


m 



BBB 



— 



■1 



^m 



THE 

GOOD SAMAEITAN; 



OR, 



SICK MAN'S FRIEND: 

CONTAINING THE 

BOTANIC MEDICAL PRACTICE 

NECESSARY 

JFor t£e 2&emobal of all Surable j^ornis of 
33 fs ease, 

IN STRICT ACCORDANCE WITH THE SOUNDEST PRINCI- 
PLES OF PHILOSOPHY AND COMMON SENSE : 

INTENDED AS A 

POCKET COMPANION, 

FOR THOMSONIANS, AND ALL OTHERS WHO WOULD WISH 
TO PREVENT, OR CURE TOEIR OWN DISEASES. 

By DR. WM. JOHNSTON, 

OF CHESTER COUNTY, PA. 



"Nothing extenuate, nor &u£ht set down in malice." 




$ljflattclj)i3ia: 

2D BY 

1841, 



i^A 




,JS»' 



DVERTISEMENT. 



The subscriber thinks it his duty to inform his nume- 
rous friends, that, in consequence of the many losses which 
he sustained, together with the severe and protracted 
sickness, and the several deaths, with which his family 
was afflicted ; it was rendered impossible for him to pub- 
lish this work; and in order that it might make its ap- 
pearance according to his proposals, he was obliged to 
transfer his copy-right to Mr. Anthony Kelty. Yet he 
can assure his friends, that the patronage they have, or 
may extend to this work will be of essential benefit to 
him, as a reasonable portion of the profits arising from 
its sale will be generously appropriated for the support of 
his family. 

He would likewise tender his acknowledgments to his 
medical friends, for the advice and assistance he received 
from them; and hoping that this work may prove a 
source of comfort, health, and happiness, to all his 
readers, he subscribes himself their humble and devoted 
servant, Wm. Johnston. 



Entered according to Act cf Congress, in the year 
1840, by Anthony Kelty> >n the Clerk'^s Office of the 
District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



A 



INTRODUCTION, 



In presenting the following pages to his numerous 
friends and patrons, the compiler wishes it to be dis- 
tinctly understood, that it is not his intention that 
this book should supersede the works of the venera- 
ble father and founder of the Thomsonian System of 
Medical Practice ; but, on the contrary, that it may 
be the means of opening the people's eyes to the ex- 
cellency, utility, and superiority of that system over 
every other yet discovered. For it is his candid 
opinion that, by placing such a mass of useful infor- 
mation as this little book contains, before an intelli- 
gent community, it will be the means of causing them 
to reflect, and examine the subject for themselves; 
and this, in all probability, will promote the sale of 
the invaluable works of Dr. Samuel Thomson, now 
selling at twenty dollars. 

As Dr. Thomson's system of medical practice has 
been so highly recommended, I shall here place before 
my numerous readers a few of the honourable testi- 
monies borne in its favour by men of high standing in 
society, who were well qualified to judge correctly 
respecting its claims to the confidence of a well in- 
formed public. 

From the Albany Daily Advertiser. 
THOMSONIAN SYSTEM. 
We pretend to no knowledge of the virtues of this 
much talked of system of medicine. The opinions 

3 



4 INTRODUCTION. 

of Messrs. Dimmick, Edgerton and Metcalf, are very 
favourable, and the high respectability of their charac- 
ters entitles them to an attentive perusal. So much 
feeling has been excited on this subject in some of 
the northern towns, as we are told, politics are merged 
in the question of Steam and Anti-steam. 



A CARD. 

The subscriber for himself, and in behalf of the 
Friendly Botanic Society, in the state of New York, 
tenders his sincere thanks to the majority of the 
honourable committee, Messrs. Dimmick, Edgerton 
and Metcalf, for their indefatigable exertions and can- 
dour in their patient investigation of the Thomsonian 
system of Practice in behalf of the state, and for fur- 
nishing him with their written opinion for publica- 
tion. And also, his thanks are due to a great number 
of individuals, in this city, as well as from various 
parts of the state, for their kindness in voluntarily 
appearing before the committee and testifying in rela- 
tion to the value, safety and success of the said system 
of practice. To Doctors Mitchell and Green, the 
minority of the committee, I feel myself under no 
obligations, as they have, among other erroneous 
statements, falsely accused us of using one of their 
own most prominent medicines, viz. : arsenic,* (see 

*Doct. Wm. Warner studied medicine in the state of 
?»lassachusetts, and received his diploma agreeable to the 
laws of said state. For two or three years past, he has 
practised in this city, and last fall being called to attend 
John Hogle, who was slightly indisposed, he administered 
to him some of his medicine, and in a few hours Hogle 
died; and on opening the body arsenic was found in a 
saline state in his stomach, upon which Warner was ar- 
rested, tried, and sentenced to solitary confinement in the 
Albany county gaol for three years, where he is now expi- 
ating his crime, because he had not received his diploma in 
this state, and of course could not kill agreeably to its laws. 



INTRODUCTION. 5 

Dr. Thatcher's Dispensatory, page 299 to 301.) An 
^instance of the kind I will challenge them to produce, 
with any of the Thomsonian practitioners or that of 
their using any other deleterious article, whether mi- 
neral or vegetable, if they follow their system of prac- 
tice. Our grateful thanks are also* due to the State 
Medical Society and its various auxiliary branches 
for their kindness {although unintentionally) in es- 
tablishing the Thomsonian system far more perma- 
nent than it has ever been before in this state ; may 
they persevere and prosper in like manner with all 
their undertakings in relation to us. 

The subscriber takes this method to inform his 
friends and the public, that in consequence of the 
mass of business on the calendar, prior to his report, 
it has been utterly impossible to reach it this session. 

John Thomson. 
Albany, April, 1828. 

Albany, April 19th, 1828. 
Sir — In compliance with your request, and with a 
wish to do justice to the public in relation to the 
effects of what is called the " Thomsonian system of 
practice" on the community, I feel myself justified 
in saying, that having been one of a committee of 
five, appointed by the Assembly of the state of New 
York, to inquire into and report to that house on that 
subject, I have made particular examination so far as 
I could find time and opportunity, during three or 
four weeks, in the city of Albany. But my inquiries 
have not only extended to the examination of various 
individuals, from different parts of this state where 
that system is in use, but have also examined about 
twenty-five families, or the heads thereof, in the city 
of Albany, where considerable use seems to have been 
made of that method of curing diseases. I am sensi- 



b INTRODUCTION. 

ble that from education, from habits of thinking, and 
from my intimate connection with regular physicians, 
I approached that examination with strong prejudices 
against every species of quackery and empiricism. 
But of this species of quackery, I had no knowledge 
before. I first read Dr. Thomson's certificates of 
great cures, with all that indifference which men 
generally do when they expect imposition or decep- 
tion is about to be played off upon them. On exami- 
nation, however, of all or nearly all the cases certified, 
as having taken place in the city of Albany within a 
few months, in the latter part of the year 1824, and 
the fore part of the year 1825, 1 found them fully 
supported by statements made by the respective fami- 
lies or heads thereof; I also found many particulars 
of those cases stated, which, in my opinion, adds 
much to the importance and striking features of them, 
which do not appear in the short statements made of 
them in those certificates. I also endeavoured, if pos- 
sible, by inquiry of various individuals, as well of the 
enemies of the system as the friends, and those who 
were indifferent on the subject, what cases, if any 
existed, of injurious effects arising from its use ; and 
although I found some three or four, in which dark 
surmises and suspicions seemed to have been set 
afloat in the community, in every case which I was 
able to trace, I did trace, by examination of the friends 
of the persons thus supposed to have been injured by, 
or fallen victims to such practice ; and could have no 
reason to believe or suspect that any injury had been 
done to the patient, but more or less relief thereby 
gained. It is also due to Dr. Thomson to say, that 
in every case, wherein suspicions have been indulged, 
it appeared the patient had been pronounced by the 
regular physicians incurable ; and that such opinions 
had been given in nearly all the cases, amounting to 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

some forty or fifty, of which I heard detailed the par- 
ticulars ; and in some of which, to use the language 
attributed to the regular physicians, "it was as im- 
possible to restore them to health, as it was to create 
a new world." After such an examination and ma- 
turely reflecting thereon, I think it neither rash nor 
indiscreet to say, that judging from the effects of his 
practice in the city of Albany, however much regular 
physicians may, as I am sure they will, carp at the 
expression, and speaking after the manner of men, or 
if you please, according to human reasoning, k has 
snatched ten from the grave, where it has hastened 
one to it. 

What may be its particular effects in other parts of 
the state, or when not administered by Dr. Thomson 
himself, I am unable to state. The persons thus ex- 
amined appear respectable, intelligent, and candid, and 
generally expressed their, great opposition to, and 
want of confidence in Dr. Thomson's practise before 
they had tried it, and were induced to make, the trial 
in consequence of the desperate nature of their cases, 
and with a belief or hope that no injury could be 
done thereby. With your theory or principles I had 
little to do; the effects of your practice was the prin- 
cipal thing sought for by me, as by your fruits I was 
resolved to judge you, and however much may be the 
obloquy, which the declaration of a favourable opinion 
of your practice may call forth from the learned, not 
only against quacks, but the supporters of quacks, I 
freely take upon myself the responsibility of sub- 
scribing to the above." 

Your obedient servant, 

A. Dimmick, Member of Assembly. 

P. S. — Most of the individuals thus examined, had 
family rights, upon which they placed a very high 



8 INTRODUCTION. 

value ; and one gentleman, whose respectability and 
candour are very high in public estimation, declared 
he would not be deprived of the knowledge for 1000 
doliars. I also examined two gentlemen from Nan- 
tucket, who spoke most distinctly of the respectability 
and credibility of the persons whose signatures ap- 
pear attached to Dr. TVs certificates of his practice 
in that place. A. D. 

I concur in the above, having been chairman of the 
committee before whom the examinations were had. 
Bela Edgerton, Member of Assembly. 

I certify that I was one of a committee of five ap- 
pointed by the Assembly of the state of New York, 
to investigate the effects of the Thomsonian system 
of practice on the public. And that it appears by the 
petitions and other papers presented and referred to 
said committee, as well as from the testimony of many 
respectable individuals resident in the city of Albany, 
who attended the committee personally, that the prac- 
tice of Dr. Thomson had in a great many instances 
proved highly beneficial, and there was no evidence 
submitted to show his practice had proved deleterious 
in any case. A. Metcalf. 

Albany, April 11, 1828. 



The following extract is from a letter dated Liberty 
Hill, Kershaw District, S.Carolina, Feb. 11, 1832. 
It is from the pen of the talented patriotic statesman 
and physician, Dr. Robert D. Montgomery. It was 
originally addressed to the Rev. Wm. Carlisle. The 
contents of the letter have been forwarded to us by R. 
Ferriss, Esq. of Winsborough, enclosed in a commu- 
nication bearing date Oct. 19th, 1832. 

Mr. Carlisle prefaces the letter by the following 



INTRODUCTION. 9 

remarks : " The circumstances that gave rise to the 
publication of the following letter were these : Dr. 
Montgomery applied to me for a Thomsonian family 
right, he pledged himself to report his opinion of the 
system as soon as he should have opportunity of fairly 
testing it. A request being sent to him by the Thom- 
sonians for that purpose — the following letter is his 
reply ;" after an interesting detail of his patriotism 
and public services, in conclusion he adds ; " suffice 
it to say, that Dr. Montgomery's opinion of any sys- 
tem is of more importance than the opinion of a 
thousand self-interested physicians, whose object is to 
keep the people in ignorance of the nature of disease, 
and consequently of the mode and manner of per- 
forming cures." 

The following is 'the letter referred to. 
Gentlemen — I received your letter on the 10th ult, 
and on the evening it came to hand, was severely 
attacked with the cholera morbus, which prevented a 
more early answer. You request my opinion on the 
Thomsonian practice of medicine, and inquire, some- 
thing concerning my medical studies, previous to my 
adopting the botanic practice. I will with pleasure 
endeavour to satisfy your inquiries, in as brief a man- 
ner as I am able. It will perhaps be the most satis- 
factory course to give a short history of my medical 
life, then my reasons for adopting the new practice 
may appear in a more convincing light. After I had 
finished my collegiate education in the year 1794-5 
and 6, I proceeded to the study of medicine in Co- 
lumbia, S. Carolina, under the tuition of Drs. Mont- 
gomery and Henricks, both students of the Rushean 
school. After this, I attended the medical lectures in 
Philadelphia, given by Drs. Shepper, Rush, Wood- 
house, and Barton. Having attended the regular 



10 INTRODUCTION. 

course of lectures under these professors, they adjudged 
me entitled to a diploma, for my medical knowledge, 
yet it was contrary to the rules of the institution to 
give me one, unless I went through another course ; 
my finances would not admit of it at that time, and I 
never obtained a diploma. After my return from 
Philadelphia, I fell immediately into practice, but 
quickly found, that the theory, however beautiful it 
might appear, would by no means agree with the 
practice. I entered the practice with all the ardour 
that it is possible for a young physician to possess. 
Every leisure moment was employed in perfecting my 
knowledge of the science of medicine ; and I flattered 
myself that I was as successful in my practice, as my 
cotemporaries : my prospects-were flattering and my 
practice lucrative for fourteen or fifteen years. I then 
became wearied of the practice, and during the latter 
part of my time, have given it over, unless constrained 
by the entreaties of a friend. I could do no better 
than to pity their distress. You would here inquire, 
what it was that could induce me to relinquish a 
gainful practice, and adopt a system of yesterday — to 
leave the old, beaten track for one newly opened 1 I 
answer, because the marks to point the way to pro- 
ceed, in the old practice, were fallacious and not to 
be depended on when life was at stake. Here I would 
candidly ask the candid physician, if he has not often 
been deceived, in the symptoms of disease, when flat- 
tering himself with the prospect of the speedy recovery 
of his patient, when he left him, perhaps at evening 
— the next visit, perhaps the next morning, found 
him breathing his last] you beheld him surrounded 
by weeping friends, because they viewed him depart- 
ing to his long home. In such circumstances, hu- 
manity sickens, and anxiously inquires, " Is there no 
relief from disease and premature death V 9 The an- 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

swer is lo be found in the botanic practice. But, is 
this practice infallible 1 Does it never fail ] Yes, it 
may fail, has failed, and will fail, in a number of cases. 
It has and will fail, of course, when the vital spark is 
nearly extinct, when the powers of life are destroyed 
by disease, or when the condition of the patient is 
such that there is not any thing remaining for the 
medicine to act upon. Medicine cannot act on a dead 
body, though it be ever so active. At such a crisis, 
this practice, as every other, will most assuredly fail : 
yet, in the midst of all these failures, the new practice 
will have a decided superiority over every other mode 
of cure yet known by man. I find by experience in 
my family, and among my friends, who have used 
the medicine as directed, that in fevers, jt generally 
relieves the patient in twenty-four hours, and often in 
less time. A number of cases in my own family, that 
have been as violent as any under the old practice, 
which required three or four weeks before they were 
able to leave their bed, yet by the Thomsonian prac- 
tice, these have been relieved in the short time already 
stated. This practice, under my direction, has tri- 
umphed over an ascites, or dropsy of the abdomen, in 
which the old practice had laboured in vain. The bite 
of a rattlesnake, on one of the family, accompanied 
with violent pain, was freed from all pain in less than 
ten minutes, and the swelling of the foot and leg was 
but trifling. In myself, a violent attack of rheuma- 
tism and cholera morbus both yielded to the botanic 
applications. Another fact is worthy of notice ; your 
patient does not suffer the great debility, by a course 
of the new practice, that commonly takes place in the 
old. The natural functions are soon restored to their 
former vigour. The patient forgets that he was sick. 
Do you wish me to account for this 1 It is easily 
done — there is not that prostration of strength by de- 



12 INTRODUCTION. 

pleting remedies in the new, as in the old practice. 
Another reason why the same degree of debility is 
not induced, is that the medicine used is in harmony 
with the powers of life ; hence it is, that, after the 
operation of the Thomsonian remedies, the patient 
feels invigorated and cheerful. One other fact which 
gives the new a decided advantage over the old prac- 
tice is, that the remedies are the same in all cases that 
can possibly occur ; the object is uniform, viz.: The 
restoration of the natural heat, as it is a primitive vital 
property; hence the practising physician, acting with 
any tolerable degree of common discretion, cannot err 
materially in administering the remedies : He is not 
liable to do any irreparable injury to his patient. 
This is not the case with the old practice : How often 
have we witnessed with grief the baneful effects of 
medicine on the constitution of the patient? Where 
is the physician that will not acknowledge tiiat his 
medicine has often operated in a different manner 
than he had expected, and that his patient was worse 
from the use thereof. 

A Brown, a Rush, and others have declared firmly 
their belief in the unity of disease, and the unity of 
cure : Doct. Thomson joins them in the belief, and 
practises precisely on that principle. Away, then, 
with your thousand diseases, and your thousand re- 
medies, and adopt that system of practice that is both 
safe and salutary to man. 

In conclusion, I would add, another reason which 
makes the Thomsonian practice valuable, and that is 
its simplicity, or its plain, natural adoption to the 
illiterate, untutored part of the human family. The 
poor and illiterate require the attention of the humane 
and benevolent in all countries, and such are the most 
numerous class in society : To such the Thomsonian 
practice holds out the helping hand, to snatch them 






INTRODUCTION. 13 

from pain and death, and such it invites to a partici- 
pation of its benefits. 

These are some of the considerations which have 
determined my judgment to the botanic practice of 
medicine. I am fully confident that whoever will 
give it a fair trial will rejoice at the success. 
I am, respectfully, yours, &c. 

Robert D. Montgomery. 



Part of Dr. Thomas Hersey's Address to the United 
States Botanic Convention, convened at Columbus, 
Ohio, Dec. 1832. 

You will bear with you to your respective places 
of abode, my best wishes for your personal welfare, 
and the prosperity of the system. I have been drawn 
into the acknowledgment and adoption of this system, 
in subserviency to my own convictions of the inno- 
cency, efficacy, and certainty of the remedies prescribed, 
for the removal of disease. More than forty years of 
my life have been devoted to the ancient and regular 
practice. Ten years have been spent in investigating 
the merits and ascertaining the justness of the claims 
of this system on public confidence. A partial lean- 
ing was the first step; the result was a mixed prac- 
tice, which I soon discovered could not succeed ; I 
discovered I must be a Thomsonian altogether, or 
abandon the cause. I resolved on the experiment on 
the joint testimony of my own impartial experience 
and the testimony of others on whose information I 
could rely without suspicion. — The result has been, 
that thus resolutely pursuing this course, I was really 
astonished at the success. — This rivalled any thing 
with which I had ever been acquainted in domestic 
practice, or in my former official capacity of surgeon 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

of the U. S. Army, or any private or public station I 
had ever been called to fill. 

To enter minutely into a laboured detail of inci- 
dents, connected with this conversion to Thomsonism, 
would be uninteresting and useless — I know that in 
these concessions and this devotedness to the botanic 
system, I forfeit the good opinion of many reputable 
friends and literary acquaintances, but those who 
know how highly and cordially I esteem a multitude 
of these, will be fully convinced that I could never 
have been induced to have risked this forfeit, or en- 
danger that friendship and confidence, from any less 
motive, than the conscious and unavoidable impress 
of truth — were they to make the same impartial in- 
vestigation, with truth alone for the object, and coufd 
they have access to the same weight of testimony, I 
candidly believe, if the influence of mere self-interest 
could be banished from their minds, we should have 
a large accession of converts. 

I am happy to learn from the most unquestionable 
documents, that Thomsonism is extending its benign 
and salutary influence through the United States — 
many of the learned professional characters, of pre-emi- 
nent standing, are not to be deterred from espousing 
the cause; many physicians, whose literary attain- 
ments would do honour to any institution, boldly 
espouse and defend the system — others, like some an- 
cient disciples, who approached the Messiah by night, 
for fear of the Jews, support the cause in a more co- 
vert way — events are ripening fast — a momentous 
crisis in medical practice is standing at the door— -the 
lancet, calomel, nitre, antimony, arsenic, opium, and 
blisters, must prevail or they must be laid aside. 
Thomsonians wish not for any legal indulgence in 
the use of these deleterious, life-depressing articles. 
They are willing to be restricted in the use of these, 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

they are willing to be confined to botanical remedies 
and those exclusively. In the use of these remedies, 
amidst all oppositions, the success tramples on au- 
thorities and powers, it travels gloriously and victori- 
ously, and never shrinks from the severest scrutiny. 
This is not the time nor place to enlarge on this 
interesting theme. 



Testimony in favour of Dr. Thomson. 

Copy of a letter from Dr. Benjamm Waterhouse, 
formerly Lecturer on the Theory and Practice of Phy- 
sic, in Cambridge University, to the late Samuel L. 
Mitchell, of New York. 

Cambridge, Dec. 19, 1825. ; 

My dear Sir — Mr., alias Doct. Samuel Thomson, 
who has the honour of introducing the valuable Lo- 
belia to use, and fully proved its efficacy and safety, 
will deliver you this. He has cured and relieved many 
of disorders, which others could not, without being a 
regular diplomatized physician, and dared to be a re- 
publican in a hot-bed of federalism : for which he has 
been shamefully ill-treated, even to persecution. 

I have aided and assisted Thomson from a firm be- 
lief that his novel practice has been beneficial to num- 
bers, and that it may be placed among improvements. 
If he be a quack, he is a quack sui generis, for he 
proclaims his mode and means. Had John Hunter, 
whom I well knew, been born and bred where Samuel 
Thomson was, he would have been just such another 
man ; and had S. T. been thrown into the same 
society and associations as J. H. he would, in my 
opinion, have been his equal, with probably a wider 
range of thought; but both men of talents, and 
originality of thought. 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

I am, indeed, so disgusted with learned quackery, 
that I take some interest in honest, humane, and 
strong-minded empiricism ; for it has done more for 
our art, in all ages and in all countries, than all the 
universities since the time of Charlemagne. Where, 
for goodness sake, did Hippocrates study ? — air, earth 
and water— man, and his kindred vegetable — disease 
and death, and all casualties and concomitants of hu- 
manity, were the pages he studied — every thing that 
surrounds and nourishes us were the objects of his 
attention and study. In a word, he read diligently 
and sagaciously the Great Book of Nature, as Thom- 
son has, instead of the little books of man. 

How came your Legislature to pass so unconstitu- 
tional an act as that called the anti-quack law 1 — 
such as the parliament of England would hardly have 
ventured on — for who will define quackery ? Were 
I sufficiently acquainted with your excellent Governor 
Clinton, I would write to him on the subject. You 
New Yorkers are half a century behind us in theo- 
logical science, but your quack bill looks as if you 
halted also in physic. 

By what I have seen and learned of Mr. Thomson, 
I wish him success, and the notice of the eminent and 
the liberal in the profession, and with this view I give 
him this rapidly- written letter to Dr. Mitchell, and am, 
with a high degree of esteem and respect, 
His steady friend, 

Benj. Waterhouse. 



THE 

GOOD SAMARITAN 



CHAPTER I. 

ON MEDICINE. 

The great, the good, the highly gifted, and much 
persecuted Dr. Samuel Thomson, was the first 
who submitted to the world, the self-evident proposi- 
tion, that food and medicine must harmonize with 
each other — that they often grow in the same field, 
and may be gathered by the same hand. And indeed, 
common sense might teach us, that there must be a 
perfect correspondency and congruity between food 
and medicine, as both are intended alike to have a 
beneficial and healthy influence on the system — the 
one to continue a healthy action, the other to restore 
that action when lost. 

The learned Dr. S. Robinson says of medical 
poisons, " It would seem a solecism in language, the 
bare combination of these terms, but such is the fact — 
poisons, the most violent and destructive, have been 
denominated the most valuable medicines." Indeed 
it is a sorrowful truth, that the most active and potent 
articles used by the medical faculty as medicines, and 
upon which they place their principal reliance, are 
known and acknowledged to be in an eminent degree 
destructive to life, and subversive of the very laws 
which they are intended to promote. How absurd 
2 17 



18 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

then it must appear to every enlightened mind, when 
the living power is weakened — the vital spark nearly 
extinguished, and all the organs in an impaired state, 
to administer such articles as are known to produce 
the same effects upon the healthy system, and which 
must, in disease, increase the very disorders they are 
intended to counteract ! 

A correct knowledge of proper medicinal substances 
can only be learned from experience and a close ob- 
servation of nature. The opportunities for drawing 
lessons of instruction from both these sources, and the 
qualifications for profiting thereby, were eminently 
enjoyed by Dr. Thomson; and unborn millions will 
yet have cause to bless that providence which raised 
him up and sustained him in a most arduous struggle 
to establish his system of medical practice in the 
world. When his enemies and persecutors shall have 
been long mouldered into dust, and their names and 
memories eternally forgotten, the name of Samuel 
Thomson shall "stand as a splendid beacon on the 
solitudes of time, to point the traveller the road to 
glory." 

It is not denied that the vegetable kingdom fur- 
nishes some of the most active and fatal poisons with 
which we are acquainted ; but this fact, instead of 
arguing, as some have urged, against the propriety of 
drawing upon that kingdom for our remedial agents, 
furnishes the strongest evidence in favour of it. No- 
thing but vegetable matter, or the product of it, can 
be assimilated ; that is, made to answer the purpose 
of nourishment. It inherently possesses an active 
principle by which it produces its effects, whether good 
or bad ; and if it furnishes the most active poisons, 
it should also, by analogical reasoning, yield the most 
active medicines. Dr. Coxe has observed in relation 
to Antimony, (and his remarks are applicable to all 






19 

the metals,) that, " All the metallic preparations are 
uncertain, as it depends entirely upon the state of 
the stomach, whether they have no action at all, or 
operate with dangerous violence." But this cannot 
be said of vegetables, because they possess a principle 
in themselves, by which they are always capable of 
producing an effect upon the system. And no in- 
stance, perhaps, has ever been recorded, in which the 
application of vegetables, whether as medicines or 
poisons, did not produce their peculiar and specific 
effects, unless they were impaired by age or from 
other causes. 

We again repeat, that the vegetable kingdom fur- 
nishes, either directly or indirectly, all our food ; and 
why not all our medicine] Or did a Beneficent 
Creator place the means of sustaining our bodies in 
health, upon the surface of the earth within our im- 
mediate grasp, and the means of restoring our health 
when sick, within its bowels 1 Impossible ! The good- 
ness of Deity could not do this — could not suffer 
this ! So it follows, that whether we consult the na- 
ture of man, of disease, or of Deity, the evidence and 
the result are irresistible, that the vegetable kingdom 
alone furnishes the proper remedies for relieving our 
maladies. 

What then becomes of the boasted discoveries and 
remedies of the famous Paracelsus, who first applied 
chymistry to develope the remedial resources of the 
mineral kingdom? He, to be sure, is now denounced 
as a miserable quack ; but it cannot be denied that he 
was the author of Medical Chymistry, the value and 
success of which is now so highly appreciated by the 
Medical Faculty. And what is the result of all the 
pretended improvements of mineral preparations 
which have been so perseveringly studied since the 
days of this famous Paracelsus] Nothing but re- 



20 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

finements in error ; improvements of the means which 
have, from that day to this, inflicted innumerable woes 
on the human family ; and retarded and interrupted 
the march of true medical science. As we do not 
wish our readers to take our bare word for the truth 
of these assertions, we will refer them to the most 
approved standard works on medicine ; so that if they 
will persist in using such violent poisons, as quick- 
silver, opium, nitre, nightshade, hemlock, foxglove, 
arsenic, antimony, &c. &c, they may be apprised 
of the dreadful results which these deleterious articles 
often produce on the human system — results which 
no respectable physician will or dare deny. And 
how it ever enters the minds of benevolent physicians, 
that such articles as we are about turning our atten- 
tion to, could be useful as medicines, is beyond con- 
ception, and affords but an additional example of the 
proneness of the human heart to err in despite of 
reason and common sense. 
(£j* See Appendix. 



CHAPTER II. 



Remarks on blood-letting by Professor Terry, and 
Dr. Lobstein, showing the inconsistency and 
barbarity of such an inhuman practice. 



ON BLOOD-LETTING. 

BY DR. D. L. TERRY. 



Can the practice of bleeding, for the cure of gene- 
ral and local fevers be sustained upon the testimony 
of correct pathology, sound physiology, careful obser- 



FRIEND. 21 

vation, and true experience 1 In order that a person 
may be qualified to give a correct decision in regard 
to the merits of this question, it is indispensable that 
he conceive just notions of fever himself; that he have 
a true knowledge of the nature of disease, of the ge- 
neral doctrine of life, and of the nature and uses of 
the blood ; that he mark well what he sees and feels 
of disease, and that he be not one of those, who are 
determined to be ignorant in spite of experience. 

We have made some observations upon the nature 
and use of blood in the beginning of this essay, with 
which we believe every enlightened man will fully 
agree. Our theory or doctrine of disease, of fever, 
and inflammation, we have also given, with some of 
the evidences and authority for the same. These 
doctrines are in accordance with the best of our judg- 
ment and knowledge ; therefore, in forming our 
answer to the question at the beginning of this chap- 
ter, we shall apply the question to these doctrines as 
a test, and give our answer according to the result. 

Any mode of practice in the treatment of fever, 
which harmonizes with true pathology, with physi- 
ology and experience, must be^egarded as good, ac- 
cording to our present state of knowledge ; if then, 
the practice of bleeding is not found to be so parallel 
with the steps of nature, in the cure of disease, as 
some other known and practicable means, then we 
must pronounce it bad. 

We have said that there are many remote causes 
which may operate upon the human system, under 
certain circumstances, in such manner as to derange 
that regular performance of all the functions of the 
body ; which derangement brings on a preternatural 
I state of body, or, in other words, a diseased state. A 
I diseased state of body cannot long continue without 
giving rise to certain exertions of nature, which are 



22 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

commonly termed fever, and looked upon as real dis- 
ease ; but which are called by Dr. Johnson, a salu- 
tary action, or an effort of the constitution, &c. ; by 
Mr. Hunter, a necessary action — a good symptom, 
&c. ; by Dr. Gregory, the operations of nature tending 
to the restoration of health, the steps of nature in 
curing disease, &c. 

We stated that all the actions of the system (mor- 
bid or diseased actions excepted) are supported by the 
life'-giving stimulus of the blood. We have now ar- 
rived at the conclusion that disease is the immediate 
cause of fever — that fever is a necessary and salutary 
action, and that this action is supported by the blood. 
We must inquire into the immediate and subsequent 
effects of bleeding, to see whether they are such as 
may be desired in the removal of disease. 

The immediate effect of the abstraction of blood, is 
debility or weakness. This is a fact which all experi- 
ence proves; nor can it be successfully controverted. 
The secondary effect of bleeding, is a protracted reco- 
very from disease ; also an increased susceptibility of 
the system to be affected by such causes as are calcu- 
lated to produce disease. 

The first of the above positions is based not only 
upon experience, but upon the physiological fact, that 
all the strength of the system is derived immediately 
and directly from the blood ; and hence, to pretend 
that a small quantity of blood may be abstracted with- 
out producing a proportionate degree of weakness, 
would be as good philosophy as to say that one grain 
of mustard-seed makes no part of the bushel ; or to 
say that the body contains one, two, or three pounds 
of blood more than is compatible or proper for its 
safety or health, is to say that nature performs works 
of supererogation, to interrupt her own laws. Such 
opinions would do but little honour to men of sense. 



23 

Bleeding reduces the force and frequency of the 
pulse ; that is, it diminishes the action of the heart 
and arteries, and thus reduces fever. Well, says one, 
if bleeding reduces the fever, it must be good. But 
stop, what is fever 1 Oil had forgotten that I read, 
in a former part of this book, that fever is a necessary 
and salutary effort of the constitution to relieve some 
oppressed organ, to restore some impeded function, to 
'-emove the disease. Well, then, bleeding is not good 
dimply because it reduces fever. But does not bleed- 
ing remove the blood which is most impure, and 
which is, consequently, a cause of disease 1 

We are fully aware that many are honestly of this 
opinion, but wherever we find a physician holding 
out such an idea to the people, we are obliged to lay 
one of these things to his charge, viz : that he is un- 
pardonably ignorant of the true knowledge of his 
profession, or else he is wilfully dishonest, or, in other 
words, is willing to sacrifice the health of his patient 
to his own interest. Foreign or extraneous matter is 
only mixed mechanically with the blood, not chy- 
mically combined with it. Where the secretory 
functions are suppressed, as that of the kidneys and 
skin, that matter or fluid which should have passed 
off, by these secretions, is retained, mixed with the 
general mass of the blood, and produces unusual irri- 
tation. The proper way to purify the blood in such 
case, seems to be the way which nature takes; that 
is, to restore the action of the skin, thus producing 
perspiration ; and the action of the kidneys, thereby 
separating more of the unhealthy particles from the 
blood. 

Now we will suppose that there are twenty-eight 
pounds of blood in the body, and with this is mixed 
four pounds of impure fluid from retention. Now we 
take one pound of blood, and we remove but one 



24 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

twenty-eighth part of the morbid matter, at the same 
time taking away one twenty-eighth part of that 
strength, of which the patient may stand in the 
greatest need. But, says one, the doctor says, " it is 
the bad blood which he draws," and I think he is 
correct ; for, on watching the operation of bleeding, I 
have frequently noticed that when the blood first be- 
gins to flow, it is quite thick, and looks dark and 
clotted. All this may be true, and frequently is, as 
respects the appearance of the blood ; but let us look 
into the cause. It is customary, previous to opening 
a vein, to apply a ligature around the limb, between 
the point to be punctured and the heart, for the pur- 
pose of retarding the blood in the veins, and thus 
rendering the vein to be opened more conspicuous 
and prominent. — The blood contained in the veins on 
the side of the ligature more distant from the heart, 
by being obstructed, loses its colouring matter, by 
uniting with a larger quantity of the carbon of the 
animal substance; hence, it becomes darker, and, by 
its quiescence, partially coagulates, forming the. small 
clots before mentioned. 

Therefore, when the blood begins to flow, upon the 
opening of the vein, it looks dark, &c. ; but after it 
has flowed sufficiently long to remove that portion 
which had been retarded by the ligature, it appears 
of a brighter red, no clots are discovered, and all con- 
clude that the bad blood is all drawn off, and, conse- 
quently, it is time to stop. Yes ! we agree with them ; 
it is time to stop — to stop such absurdities, such 
imposition, and such sacrifice of life ! If the blood 
abstracted by venesection differs at all from the 
general mass of blood, we would be led, from certain 
circumstances, to believe that it is the better portion 
of the blood. 

It is well known to physicians that, in many dis- 



FRIEND. 25 

eases, there are very frequent determinations and 
congestions of blood in different organs, as the brain, 
the lungs, the liver. &c. ; of course, the congested or 
stagnated blood ceases to give that stimulus and 
strength to the system which is usually imparted by 
this fluid. Then the only dependence which the con- 
stitution has for strength to support life and to make 
the necessary efforts to remove disease, must be solely 
derived from the circulating and vivifying blood ; it is 
the blood which is in active circulation (except the 
obstruction caused by the ligature) that is drawn by 
venesection ; hence, according to the reasoning above, 
it must be a portion of the blood of the better quality, 
that is drawn off by the lancet. 

Though bleeding, when it is performed during in- 
creased action of the heart and arteries, invariably 
reduces this action for the time ; yet it is known to 
have a different effect if performed at the time when 
the action of the heart is below par, from the oppres- 
sion of the general disease, concussion of the brain, 
suffocation from gases, Sec. In these cases, bleeding 
increases the action of the heart and arteries by 
accelerating the febrile action, or forwarding the pro- 
cess of a reaction. Well, then, says the believer in 
bleeding, you have established the propriety of blood- 
letting in this state of the system, upon your own 
principles ; for you say here, that bleeding increases 
the action of the heart and arteries, when performed 
under the above described circumstances; you say, 
also, that it accelerates the accession of febrile action, 
or forwards the process of reaction ; you have said 
that this febrile action or reaction is a necessary and 
salutary action or effort of the constitution, tending 
to the restoration of health ! Now, agreeably to all 
this, it seems to me that bleeding must be good ; for, 
if the fever is a salutary action, tending to remove 



26 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

disease, it cannot come on too soon ; when there is 
disease existing 4n the system, the sooner it com- 
mences, the sooner the restoration of health will be 
accomplished. Now we look upon this kind of rea- 
soning, as arising from a very superficial examination 
of the subject ; and, under no other examination of 
it, could such a series of reasoning appear even in the 
slightest degree plausible. 

In order to form a correct decision as to the merits 
of any question, it is not enough that we examine 
and bring forward all the evidences which can be 
found to favour one side of the question, which we 
might, from a superficial view, think best supported; 
but we should also examine and weigh well the argu- 
ments against this side. 

We have already observed that all diseases consist 
in either functional or organic lesion, and that their 
immediate consequence upon the system, is oppression 
of its organs, and depression of its general strength. 
We have also remarked that a natural fever or re-ac- 
tion, on account of the existence of disease, does not 
take place, until the disease is so extended as to en- 
danger the immediate safety of the individual affected ; 
that is, fever does not take place so long as there is 
sufficient strength and vital stamina in the constitu- 
tion, to hear up under the oppressive influence of 
disease. Hence, the interval between the primary 
application of an efficient morbid cause to the body, 
and the commencement of the redaction of fever, de- 
signed to remove the effects produced in the body, by 
the operation of the external morbid cause, will be 
longer or shorter in proportion to the extent or in- 
tensity of the cause itself, and the strength of the 
system at the time. Nature, suffered to take her own 
course, always*starts at the best time and under the 
most favourable circumstances. 






27 

To illustrate our idea, we will suppose an individual 
to receive a fall from some considerable eminence, in 
which he strikes upon the feet in such a manner as 
to produce no external wound, but, as soon as he 
comes to the ground, he falls apparently dead. 

This is a case of concussion of the brain ; that is, 
the brain is so much jarred by the fall, as to cease in 
a measure to perform its usual function. The equili- 
brium of the circulation is disturbed ; a congestion of 
blood takes place in the brain, and perhaps in some 
other of the internal organs. Now, though this is 
very oppressive to the system, yet, from the vigour 
of the constitution, the system is enabled to bear it, 
and still perform the vital functions sufficiently to 
support life, till nature shall have prepared her means, 
so as to make her efforts of restoration under the 
most favourable circumstances. 

But if bleeding be resorted to, a degree of debility 
is thereby produced, which incapacitates the system 
for the endurance of the derangement, till all would 
(except for bleeding) have been in readiness for the 
work of reaction. 

Thus we find, that by bleeding we give rise to the 
necessity of a premature accession of fever ; we also 
diminish the strength of the constitutional efforts of 
fever, and, at the same time, add to the strength of 
the disease. If it is not the vital energy of the system 
which stays the ravages of disease, we know of no 
property in animal matter from which disease can 
meet with any resistance. 

Mr. Hunter says, "that bleeding increases irrita- 
bility, and causes an increased disposition to act, 
without the power to act with." The way in which 
bleeding increases irritability, is this : that it produces 
direct debility. When it is said that a part of the 
whole body is irritable, it is meant, that such part, or 



28 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

the body is much affected by slight causes ; there is 
so much weakness, as to disqualify the part for resist- 
ing slight attacks. In this state, the body corresponds 
with the mind of those persons, who get angry from 
slight and trivial causes ; such are said to have irrita- 
ble tempers of mind, and everybody knows that this 
irritability of temper arises from weakness of mind. 

Bleeding causes an increased disposition to act, since 
it increases the weight of the disease by diminishing 
the strength of the one who bears it. The same load 
that would be regarded as light, by the strong man, 
would be declared by the weak man to be insupport- 
ably heavy ; and if the burden were to be carried to 
a little distance by the weak man, he could not stand 
and hold it, till the obstructions could be moved out 
of his path, but he sees that his only alternative is to 
make onwards ; and, from his being weak, the burden 
heavy, and his path rough, he probably falls before he 
gets halfway ; he is no more able to raise the load, 
no, not even to raise himself. Not so with the strong 
man; he stands with his load on his shoulder till 
some one (the physician) goes and moves the ob- 
structions out of his way ; he then advances with firm 
and sure steps, arrives at the destined spot, throws 
down his burden, and is free and ready to attend to 
his business. In speaking of the weak man, it should 
have been observed, that, should he get through, and 
throw off his burden, still he is so much exhausted as 
to require much tonic medicine and a convalescent 
stage of several weeks. 

" Bleeding increases the disposition to act, without 
the power to act with." Suppose a hungry person 
just to sit down to a table furnished with food agree- 
able to his taste, but there is only enough for his pre- 
sent necessity ; now suppose one to come and carry 
off the food from his table ; would not his disposition 



29 

to act be increased, without the means to act upon 1 
He would see that his only chance would be, to make 
sure of all he could while it is going:. 

So, when the human system is labouring under dis- 
ease, and some wise son of Esculapius comes and 
begins to abstract the blood, the disposition to act is 
increased, because the system seems sensible that a 
certain effort must be made, and that her power of 
making it is going. Nature, therefore, makes the 
attempt ; but too often finds her resources deficient, 
from loss of blood. But, say our brethren of the 
bleeding faith, we know that we can reduce fever and 
inflammation by bleeding, sooner than by any other 
means. We admit that this assertion is correct ; but 
it is one of the strongest arguments which can be used 
against the very mode of practice, for the vindication 
of which it is urged. For every person who has a 
correct view of fever and inflammation, (which we 
call local fever,) must see, that they should not be 
reduced, till the disease, for the removal of which they 
were excited, shall be subdued. So, bleeding does not 
effect the desired object, it only does it apparently. 
Though the removal of disease is invariably attended 
with a subsidence of fever, yet the reverse of this, in 
no case, can happen. 

If an individual discovers that his health is some- 
what deranged, the natural desire to live, together 
with the recollection of the enjoyment of health, 
prompts him to make an attempt to restore health. 
He sends for a physician of the regular order, (be- 
cause he desires regular treatment;) his physician 
comes, and, after feeling his pulse, viewing his tongue, 
and making some inquiry of the state of the bowels, 
pronounces his patient to be sick of a fever ; if the 
fever be high, the physician recommends his patient 
to be bled ; upon being bled, the pulse sinks, the 



30 the good Samaritan; or, 

strength fails, the fever is diminished or weakened, 
and the disease strengthened. 

But what is the modus operandi, or manner in 
which bleeding acts, in the removal of the disease 1 
Who is able to tell us 1 We must say, that we have ne- 
ver seen even a plausible explanation given concerning 
its curative powers, in our reading ; and we believe 
we have carefully studied and read those authors oil 
practical medicine and surgery, who most boldly and 
strenuously advocate the practice of bleeding for the 
removal of febrile and inflammatory diseases. 

The fact is obvious, that bleeding is a mode of 
practice, which, when used for the cure of disease, 
admits not of a rational explanation, nor will physi- 
cians attempt to explain its effects to men of enlight- 
ened and experienced minds. 

They may say that bleeding is an ancient practice, 
and that it has been sanctioned by men of much 
learning and experience, and that this is sufficient 
authority. But the march of science and truth have 
condemned many of those practices which were 
thought proper in ancient times. As well might we 
say that it is right to worship idols because it was 
customary in ancient ages ; and, we might add, even 
too common in our-own day and country ; for whether 
is it better to worship the sun, moon and stars, or to 
worship wealth, fashion, fame, and worldly applause ! 

Well, says my friendly and well-disposed reader, 
from what you have said on the subject of blood- 
letting, I am disposed to regard it as a bad practice in 
general, yet I think you must admit that bleeding is 
good in some few cases ; such for instance as pleuri- 
sy and cases of violent bruises from falls and blows. 
No, kind reader, we cannot admit that the abstraction 
of blood is a good practice, in even these cases. To 
agree with onr fellow-men in sentiment feeling, and 



31 

mode of thinking, when such sentiment, feeling, and 
thinking are agreeable and consistent with reason, 
and productive of general good and" happiness, is a 
source of much gratification to an improved and vir- 
tuously directed mind. But whenever we discover 
that our fellow-men are labouring under unreasonable 
and erroneous impressions or sentiments, to agree 
with them in such sentiments, would be hypocrisy, 
not wisdom ; would be vicious, not virtuous ; and 
would excite the sensation of an admonishing and 
condemning conscience, not the peaceful delights of 
conscious goodness. Pleurisy is an inflammatory 
disease, that is, a diseased state of that delicate and 
finely organized membrane (the pleura) which lines 
the internal parietes of the thorax or chest, and forms 
a complete envelope for the lungs. This diseased 
condition of the pleura necessarily demands and gives 
rise to inflammation, which, through the medium of 
universal sympathy, affects the whole arterial system, 
and therefore comes under the head of general fever. 
It is well known by all who have been the subjects 
of this disease, that it is one of excruciating pain and 
almost insupportable suffering. The acute pain arises 
from distention of the pleuratic arteries and veins, in- 
creased and morbid sensibility, and the unavoidable 
dilatation and contraction of the lungs in performing 
the function of respiration. But this pain is only a 
secondary and, necessarily, consequent symptom ; 
that is the inflammation. Nature's efforts to remove 
the disease could not be performed, but at the expense 
of this severe pain. We must recollect that the part 
affected is highly sensible and constantly agitated by 
the motion of the lungs ; the causes (we mean the 
immediate causes) which produce the pain, are abso- 
lutely requisite for the adjustment of the derangement; 
hence the pain must be regarded as a partial and ne- 



32 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

cessary evil, which is more than counterbalanced by 
the good which grows out of the direct causes that 
excite the pain. 

From what has just been said, we come to the 
conclusion, that means may be used in the treatment 
of disease, which relieve pain, but strengthen disease. 
So in pleurisy, bleeding generally gives speedy relief, 
since it produces a vacuum in the vessels of the 
bleeding vicinity ; thus making room for some of 
that blood which should and would have gone to the 
affected part ; but how long would this relief from 
pain continue'? The answer is obvious, viz: just 
long enough for the vacuum to be filled, and the 
blood to be again (and necessarily too) injected into 
the arteries and veins of the pleura. Then, when 
nature commences her efforts to relieve the oppressed 
organ, the pain, as an unavoidable consequence, re- 
turns. If the doctor is present, he bleeds again, and 
gives relief for the moment in the way before ex- 
plained. Should nature once more be able to make 
an effort, sure as the doctor finds it out, he bleeds. 
Now, if any one wishes to know the result of such 
practice, let him call to mind the cases of pleurisy 
which he knows to have been treated in this manner, 
and then tell me, if such patients have not been 
doomed to a speedy dissolution, a long convalescence, 
or to a slow, sluggish and ineffectual fever, (termed 
by the books typhoid pneumonia,) or in simple lan- 
guage, disease of the lungs, accompanied with the 
ineffectual and puny efforts which nature makes after 
being deprived of her strength. 

The result of what we have said upon bleeding, in 
cases of pleurisy, is, that pain, in all diseases, is a 
consequent and unavoidable symptom ; that the de- 
gree of pain will be proportioned to the degree of 
sensibility in the affected part, and the extent of the 



33 

disease ; that pain may be relieved, without removing 
disease, and that in all these cases there is danger that 
the relief is purchased at too dear a rate ; that bleed- 
ing, though it may, and frequently does give tempo- 
rary relief, never fails to add strength to the disease 
by weakening the vital powers of the system ; that 
there is no more propriety for bleeding, in cases of 
pleurisy, than in any other inflammatory affection of 
the internal organs. In cases of severe falls and 
bruises, it is customary for physicians to bleed imme- 
diately ; and the custom is sanctioned by the common 
consent of thousands ; but we appeal to those physi- 
cians of modern education, for a refutation of this 
practice; they know it is condemned by the greatest 
and best authors on modern surgery. When a blow 
or fall is first received, it produces general oppression, 
which can only be obviated by a reaction ; bleeding 
protracts the interval between the reception of the 
injury and the commencement of the reaction or 
fever, and necessarily renders the reactive effort less 
effectual when it does come on. 

Authors have recommended that bleeding be de- 
layed till a reaction takes place, and then let the 
bleeding be in proportion to the strength of the re- 
action. We would strongly recommend that, in all 
such cases, bleeding be delayed till reaction takes 
place, and then (unless we presume to know more in 
such matters than the Governor of nature's laws) not 
bleed at all. The equilibrium of the circulation is 
deranged or destroyed by the blow or fall, and the 
re-action or fever is all that can restore it. Those 
physicians whose practice it is to bleed in cases of 
concussions from falls and blows, are either self- 
sufficient in knowledge, or else their minds have not 
kept pace with the acknowledged improvement of 
their science. 

3 



34 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

Dr. Thatcher, (a warm advocate for the practice of 
bleeding,) speaking of it under the head of the general 
treatment of fevers, says, a cautious and deliberate 
consideration of numerous and variant circumstances, 
is requisite in determining on the propriety of ab- 
stracting blood from the general system in fevers, 
since the diminution of that fluid, which is the imme- 
diate pabulum of life, cannot be a matter of indiffer- 
ence to the constitution ; if it be the most powerful 
means of influencing the vital actions, so it is the 
most dangerous, when improperly employed ; if the 
most effectual in diminishing excitement, it is conse- 
quently the most apt to exhaust the vital energy. We 
have no infallible index to direct us ; it is impossible, 
from the state of the circulation in the fever, to point 
to any certain criterion for the employment of the 
lancet ; the state of the pulse is often ambiguous and 
deceptive. These circumstances require the nicest 
discrimination, as the result is often very different in 
cases seemingly analogous. A precipitate decision is 
fraught with danger, and a mistake may be certain 
death. 

Typhus, which is the fever most prevalent in our 
climate, under all its modifications and forms, is at- 
tended with great general debility ; and, as exhaustion 
of vital energy soon ensues, it is obvious that, to di- 
minish the quantity of the vital fluid, must be to 
increase that dangerous state of the system which 
accelerates the fatal termination. Various, therefore, 
are the circumstances to be taken into view, and great 
is the diversity of opinions to be examined, in order 
to a right decision of this difficult point in practice. 

It is admitted here, by Dr. Thatcher, that there is 
no certain criterion whereby we can determine the 
propriety of bleeding, and in this sentiment we most 
cordially agree with him ; for it appears to us impos- 



35 

sible to point out the propriety of a practice which has 
no propriety in it. He says, also, that it (bleeding) 
is a dangerous practice ; that many circumstances are 
to be taken into the account in deciding the point ; 
and, from what he further tells us, we would think 
that even the best qualified and most experienced 
might sometimes make a mistake, come to an incor- 
rect conclusion, and thus hasten the fatal termination. 
But if this language of Dr. Thatcher's be true, re- 
specting the obscurity in which his supposed propriety 
of bleeding is involved, can we reasonably suppose 
that the superficial knowledge, and of course non- 
experience of the young medical fops, or rather self- 
styled regulars, who are poured forth upon the world, 
with their unbounded confidence in calomel and the 
lancet, are sufficient to direct them to a proper deci- 
sion of this point of practice 1 No, they are not quali- 
fied to decide, according to Dr. Thatcher's own senti- 
ments. Our reader will, we think, conclude with us, 
that physicians, especially the young, who have not yet 
learned the bad effects of bleeding by experience, do 
frequently make "precipitate decisions which are 
fraught with danger, and mistakes which may be 
certain death." But what must be the consequence 
of that indiscriminate use of the lancet and calomel, 
which is practised in the southern states by planters 
and overseers, who are as little acquainted with the 
science of medicine, as a native African is with that 
of astronomy or navigation. Can the consequence be 
any other than that of human sacrifice ? This must 
be the inevitable result. 

• Then we ask of our candid reader, will you adopt 
the practice of bleeding, and, for any little indisposi- 
tion which you may feel, run the risk of having part 
of your very life taken from you 1 If physicians will 
persist in a practice which is so destructive to life and 



36 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

so repugnant to reason and common sense, will you 
not rather act and think for yourself] 

We shall here give a few remarks on the subject 
of blood-letting, made by the learned and experienced 
Dr. J. F. Daniel Lobstein, of the Medical Faculty of 
Paris, late physician of the Military Hospital and 
Army of France, member of the Medical Societies of 
Philadelphia, of the city of New York, of Massachu- 
setts, of Maryland, of Lexington, Ky., of New Or- 
leans, of Pittsburgh, Pa., of many others of Europe, 
and of several other learned and benevolent societies 
of the United States, author of several works on medi- 
cal and literary subjects, physician and practitioner of 
midwifery in the city of New York. 

" For the life of the flesh is the blood." — Leviticus, 
xvii. 14. "A long time has elapsed, since I determined 
to publish my remarks on the pernicious effects of 
bleeding, which, not only during that time, but espe- 
cially at present, is considered as almost a universal 
remedy, and frequently resorted to as a restorative in 
the slightest indisposition ; notwithstanding the dire- 
ful consequences attendant on such practice, it con- 
tinues to be the main pillar of the medical profession. 
Were bleeding and mercury totally prohibited, a great 
many physicians would find themselves in the inex- 
tricable mazes of a sad dilemma ; their time. easily 
disposed of. It is astonishing to find that so many 
persons, and still more astonishing that so many phy- 
sicians have fallen into this extravagance. Blood, as 
the most precious matter for life, is lavishly squan- 
dered where there is no necessity ; yes, often without 
knowledge for what purport. 

" My remarks shall, therefore, convince my fellow- 
citizens, that, so far from blood-letting being beneficial, 
it is productive of the most serious and fatal effects. 
Should I contribute, by these remarks, to save more 






sick man's friend. 37 

lives in future, and arrest this cruel practice, I would 
feel that gratification which arises from the conscious- 
ness of having performed a good act. How much is 
it to be regretted that such an awful scourge of hu- 
manity should exist. 

" During my residence of fourteen years past, in 
this happy country of liberty and independence, I am 
bound to say that, in all my practice of twenty-seven 
years, as a physician, never have I seen, in any part 
of Europe, such extravagance of blood-letting as I 
have seen in this country. How many thousands of 
our fellow-citizens are sent to an untimely grave ! 
how many families deprived of their amiable children ! 
how many husbands deprived of their lovely wives ! 
how many wives of their husbands, who have fallen 
victims to bleeding; and the same may be said of mer- 
cury. We no more count the loss of blood (by bleed- 
ing) by ounces, but by pounds. Each headache, 
each indisposition, is, among physicians, quite a suf- 
ficient pretence to say, " you must be bhdP In the 
blood is the human life. In the blood is placed the 
strength of the whole organic life; without blood 
there is no heat, no motion of the system ; yes, take 
away from the brain the blood, and the self-cogitative 
powers will be instantly extinguished. 

•' Is it not evident that the most robust persons are 
such, because rich in blood 1 Certainly it is not such 
persons who are attacked with nervous weakness. 
Strength and blood stand always in direct relation. 
He who takes blood from the patient, takes away not 
an organ of life, but a part of life itself. 

" In burning fevers, it is by numerous experiences 
proved, that the most simple fevers, by bleeding, be- 
come nervous and putrid fevers, of which I can attest 
many such instances. In pure gastric fevers, bleeding 
is always pernicious ; it does not vacate the diseased 



38 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

matter which is situated in the intestinal canal, and 
can only be removed by gastric remedies, while bleed- 
ing in such cases vacates a part of the strength which 
is necessary to be acted upon, in order to expel the 
disease. 

" I desire it not to be forgotten, that, in regular 
gout, the inflammation is nothing else than a crisis, a 
local metastasis, by which a dangerous stuff from the 
internal parts is thrown to the external. Nothing 
takes more of the necessary strength away than bleed- 
ing ; and the conclusion is, either the attack of the 
gout disappears directly, and the disorder is thrown 
internally, or to some dangerous part, as the head, the 
lungs, &c. Hence arise inflammation of the lungs, 
apoplexy, or inflammation of the stomach. 

" In nervous affections, bleeding is no remedy ; the 
nervous affection itself has, from its nature with the 
blood, nothing common ; on the contrary, it arises 
from a defect of the blood and of weakness. I have 
seen, during my residence of nine years in Philadel- 
phia, many ladies with nervous affections, and of such, 
four highly respectable ladies, whose physician I had 
the honour to be. Their former physician, in all slight 
indispositions, ordered them to be bled ; whereby they 
became more and more nervous, and those had no 
nervous attacks when I stopped the bleeding. I treat- 
ed in a similar manner, a very respectable lady in 
Philadelphia, who was attacked with a very severe 
pleurisy, and I saved her without bleeding, which to 
many in that city was very astonishing. 

" It is alleged that the climate of this country re- 
quires, in all indispositions, to be bled ; and, secondly, 
the people of this country are accustomed to be bled. 
Let us examine these reasons. How it comes to pass 
that, during my residence of fourteen years in this 
country, I can prove, by a great number of persons 



sick man's friend. 39 

who have been treated by me during that time, and 
in the same diseases in which such persons were 
treated by physicians of this country, who employed 
calomel in great quantities, blisters and blood-letting, 
cups and leeches to supererogation ; and, of all those 
persons who have not fallen victims to such treatment, 
their convalescence was very long before they could 
obtain a little strength. Ladies who were very ner- 
vous, tormented with hysteric spasms. The former 
recovered by my treatment, in a very short time, and 
the latter, as I dispensed with the use of bleeding, 
lost their spasms, and became directly better ; all 
which I can satisfactorily prove. 

" Where I have not employed bleeding, such per- 
sons recovered by my treatment in a very short time. 
If now the climate of this country should require in 
all indispositions directly to commence with bleeding, 
and I have neglected it, all these persons were in- 
habitants of this country and climate \ all these should 
have died, but they recovered sooner. 

" 2d. That people in this country are accustomed 
to be bled : this is true, a very true verity ; but what 
is the true reason of it] Whether is it the patient 
or the physician 1 I believe, to speak with justice, it 
is the latter. What does the patient know of what 
is convenient for him ] He complains of headache, 
cramps in the stomach, cholic, dyspepsia, &c, he 
sends for his physician, in whom he very likely has 
confidence ; he thinks that all that is ordered him 
will be convenient for him ; and the doctor, after feel- 
ing his pulse a little strong, declares to him his severe 
sentence, "you must be bled," and thus is a habit of 
bleeding established. I know very many cases where- 
in a physician has accustomed his patient to be bled 
four times a day ! But time has proved the result of 
such treatment by the death of a great number of such 



40 THE GOOD SAMARITAN J OR, 

patients. I am certain that all such persons who have 
been bled a great many times in their lives, their con- 
stitution must become weaker every year, but their 
repentance will in future be too late. 

" The duty of a true physician, who is not an 
egotist, is to answer to the confidence of his patient* 
to recover him as soon as he can, and not, by weak- 
ening remedies, to prolong the treatment, especially 
if the patient is able to pay, thereby to inscribe to him 
a great number of visits, and the patient, by this in- 
tention, afterwards falls a victim to the avariciousness 
of the physician. How many patients have perhaps 
been treated with such an intention 1 Jf the physi- 
cian can persuade his patient to be bled freely, if he 
do not soon die under such treatment, nevertheless 
his constitution is enfeebled and becomes weaker 
every year ; and thus the patient is obliged frequently 
to call for his doctor, who has the pleasure at the end 
of the year to have a great many visits inscribed to 
his patient. 

" Such a treatment I shall never undertake, not- 
withstanding different physicians would persuade me 
to do it. The quickest recovery of my patients, shall 
always be my greatest satisfaction. ,, 

The above are the words and sentiments of the 
distinguished gentleman whose name we have given 
at the commencement of the remarks. We give them 
as his words, and we leave our readers to make their 
own comments upon them; observing only, that we 
think they deserve serious consideration ; as coming 
from one of such high standing in the profession both 
in Europe and America; one educated in the old 
schools of blood-letting and mercury ; one who against 
early prejudices and popularity has come out boldly 
and independently in the cause of truth and humani- 
ty. When a man is thoroughly convinced that he is 



sick Man's friend. 41 

acting in a bad cause, it is the surest proof of his 
goodness and magnanimity, to come out and enlist in 
a good cause. — The love of popularity and the pride 
of boasting ignorance, has bound many, as with fetters 
of iron, to a bad cause, and induced thousands to mis- 
represent a good cause, and to do all in their power 
to injure those who are innocently and devotedly en- 
gaged in it. 

In noticing the different ways in which inflamma- 
tion or local fever may terminate, we mentioned mor- 
tification as being the most unfavourable termination. 
Under one variety of circumstances, inflammation will 
end in resolution ; under another, in adhesion ; when 
influenced by others, it may end in suppuration or the 
formation of matter, and, when operated upon by other 
circumstances still less favourable, it may terminate 
in mortification, or the death of the part. Each of 
the above named terminations, may be traced to an 
adequate cause. If a person of sound constitution re- 
ceives a wound, giving rise to inflammation, this 
inflammation, if not presented by art, will very proba- 
bly end in resolution ; or, in other words, a restora- 
tion of the form and functions of the part, without 
producing disorganization or organic lesion. If the 
constitution is less vigorous, or if there should acci- 
dentally be suffered to remain in the wounded part 
some foreign or extraneous matter, suppuration will be 
likely to ensue. But if the individual should be la- 
bouring under much debility at the time of the recep- 
tion of the wound, or soon after, whether this debility 
be depending upon former disease or excessive deple- 
tion, we may reasonably conclude that, in such a case, 
mortification will be the result. How many cases of 
mortification have been produced by the debilitating 
effects of blood-letting 1 Any man possessing but a 
moderate portion of common sense, may see how 



42 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

bleeding is calculated to produce mortification. No 
part can keep up its action any longer than it retains 
its power to act with. It is well known that mortifi- 
cation is most apt to occur to the aged, and such as 
are much debilitated by the effect of unwholesome 
food and bad air. 

It is also known that, except in cases of local dis- 
ease, mortification more commonly happens in parts 
more distant from the centre of circulation, in the ex- 
tremities where the powers of life are weakest ; all 
going to prove that debility or diminution of vital 
action is the immediate cause of mortification. 

Improvement in surgery consists primarily and 
more essentially in lessening the necessity of opera- 
tions, and, secondarily, in ascertaining the easiest and 
safest mode of operating, when the first object fails to 
be accomplished. 

We, as medical reformers, profess to have dis- 
covered a plan of treatment for local fevers, which 
shall in general prevent the occurrence of mortifi- 
cation, and thus obviate the necessity of surgical 
operations. We know full well that he who skilfully 
amputates a limb, gains much applause ; but we 
think that the reward of him who so treats the dis- 
ease as to remove it, and thus save the limb, is much 
greater and far more desirable, since it consists in the 
pleasure arising from the consciousness of having 
done a useful and good act ; though by this it should 
not be inferred there is no good in the former act ; 
but we are apt to judge of the rectitude of actions, 
as we do that of people ; viz. : by comparison or 
analogy. 

We might say much more upon the subject now 
under consideration, without the fear of subjecting it 
to the inconvenience of even a partial exhaustion ; 
but, for the accomplishment of our present object, and: 



43 

in accordance with the brevity of this essay, enough 
has been said ; we feel confident that our candid and 
impartial reader will acquiesce with us in the follow- 
ing conclusion: 

That bleeding seems to be a bad mode of practice, 
let us view it on what side soever or in whatsoever 
disease. That it is much better calculated to make 
people sick, if practised upon them when they are 
well, than to make them well if practised on them 
when sick. That it ought to be entirely abandoned 
by every physician. And that, if people are so 
partial to it, as to be determined to risk it, they 
should by all means get bled when they are well and 
better able to bear the loss of blood. That, finally, it be- 
comes every lover of health and life, to study well into 
these things, to ascertain whether they be true or not. 



CHAPTER III. 

The value of steam in the removal of disease ; chiefly 
extracted from the second and third volumes of the 
Thomsonian Recorder, 

SOMETHING GOOD FROM CONSTANTINOPLE. 

AN EXTRACT. 

" Besides their many ridiculous modes and prac- 
tices for the cure of diseases, there is one which, 
however, merits our attention and praise" 

The reader will notice that the extract is given 
from a communication in the Parisian Lancet, origi- 
nating from Dr. Madden, and by him addressed to Dr. 
Gregory. We here present an extract from certain 



44 the good Samaritan; or, 

extracts made by Dr. Felix Pascalis, and published in 
the New York Medical Enquirer. 

Having thus briefly traced the origin of the ex- 
tract now being made for the Thomsonian Recorder, 
we will first inquire, at the threshold, what one 
mode of cure, practised at Constantinople, " merits 
our attention and praise .?" Reader, can you believe 

" It is that of Vapour Baths, the good effects of 
which, in cutaneous and rheumatic diseases, could 
not be too much recommended. I have certainly 
witnessed many cures from them, four times as expe- 
ditious as those performed by the usual modes of 
treatment, even the most effectual." 

After such a concession, we have been quite amused 
to see to what conclusions these learned gentlemen 
have arrived. The original writer, however, as prin- 
cipal in the subjoined sentiment, must be considered 
amenable for his own absurdities. Mark carefully 
his observations — 

" But frictions alone seem to constitute the efficacy 
of the remedy. The limbs and joints are so much 
squeezed and twisted in all possible ways and man- 
ners, that they necessarily must become supple, how- 
ever stiff they might have been before. I frequently 
was terrified at seeing how the attendants in bathing, 
could dislocate bones of the wrist, or of the shoulder, 
and immediately would restore them to their proper 
place." 

Who does not see that the muscular relaxation 
occasioned by the warm bath made the luxations of 
the joints practicable ? How readily do the most 
rigid, swollen dislocations become reducible by the 
same means 1 What degree of friction could succeed, 
in many cases, with which most practitioners must 
be intimately acquainted, without using the bath'? 
Friction without bathing, instead of relaxing, would, 



45 

in a great proportion of cases, very uniformly ag- 
gravate the difficulty. But, that bathing and fric- 
tion, judiciously combined, should overcome the 
difficulties that impede the reduction of luxated 
joints, is easy to conceive; and that they actually 
do produce such effects, is confirmed by constant 
observation. 

The writer proceeds — 

" Their adroitness in this respect is really surprising 
and prodigious. It would be of immense service, it 
seems, to gouty and rheumatic patients, to introduce 
into Europe the Turkish vapour baths; but they 
should be conducted, in every respect, as they are by 
them ; for those which have been tried of late years 
in Brighton, compared with those of the Turks, are 
mere child's play." 

The writer, insisting on the necessity of conducting 
the whole concern, in "every respect," as he has 
described, is rather ludicrous. We have much con- 
fidence in the vapour bath, in steaming and bathing 
with warm water, without excessive friction, squeez- 
ing, twisting, and dislocating bones. The editors of 
the Medical Enquirer have appended a note to the 
above, in which they remark — 

" We are the more fully persuaded of the truth of 
the above singular and somewhat dreaded kind of 
bathing, as we nave had, in our young days, the op- 
portunity of a short voyage to Constantine, in the 
Regency of Algiers, where similar vapour baths were 
established in the most perfect style. The barbarian 
who handled our limbs, frightened us exceedingly 
during the operation, yet he did not cause any ex- 
quisite pain, although he left us very weak for a short 
time, on the couch prepared in an adjacent room ; 
but pleasant feelings of comfort and elasticity both of 
limbs and spirits succeeded, which cannot be better 



46 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

described than in the words of the poet: — ' Et mem- 
bris habillis venit vigor J " 

Whether this exhilirating vigour, transfused through 
the whole system, was occasioned by bathing or by 
friction, squeezing, twisting, and dislocating, the writer 
does not inform us, but we are induced to apprehend 
it must have been by the manual manoeuvres of the 
barbarian who " handled the limbs, and frightened the 
subject of his operations exceedingly during the ope- 
ration." We are more inclined to this opinion, be- 
cause this was a bath " established in the most perfect 
style" of course all these terrifying pranks were 
probably performed in the most dexterous manner. 

The note of the editor or editors is more remark- 
able, as we find the association of physicians and 
surgeons, by whom the Medical Enquirer has been 
conducted, have always evinced uncommon hostility 
to Dr. Samuel Thomson's mode of practice, steam 
and all. It is laughable to think with what a zest 
they, or some of them at least, could have enjoyed 
their terrific fright, and be " squeezed and twisted in 
all possible ways," until their wrist and shoulder 
bones were put out of joint, by the hands of a barba- 
rian ; but these same regular doctors, in a civilized 
Christian country, would shrink from the steam or 
vapour of warm water, carefully, humanely, and judi- 
ciously applied by Dr. Thomson or any of his dis- 
ciples. We have not heard of any Thomsonian 
being accused of dislocating wrist and shoulder bones 
by steaming, but frightful stories of engorgements and 
congestions in lungs and brains of men, has become, 
among these wise men of physic, quite a proverbial 
story. What a ridiculous farce is sometimes attempt- 
ed to be played off by scientific skill, by which the 
credulous and unthinking multitude are hoodwinked 
and deceived. 



sick man's friend. 47 

I would here remark, that steaming has become 
almost as fashionable with many of the members of 
the medical faculty, as with Thomsonians themselves; 
but, then, it must be done in a more scientific manner. 
Boiled oats or corn put up in small bags, and placed 
at the feet and sides of their patients, will produce 
marvellous effects ; and they will thereby avoid the 
imputation of being the servile imitators of the de- 
spised Thomsonian steamers. The Thomsonian mode 
of steaming is maligned by the regular scientific 
traducers — it is called " boiling alive," " roasting," 
" sweating blood," &c, &c. But instead of steaming ; 
call it the " vapour bath," and it is as innocent and 
harmless as the soft mist of hot water / " A rose 
by any other name would smell as sweet V s 

We will now close this chapter with an extract 
from Dr. A. Curtis's lecture, delivered in Balti- 
more, October 16th, 1834. 

An eminent medical writer remarks — " It has been 
generally thought that one constant effect of the warm 
bath is, to relax and debilitate the body ; but this idea 
is now admitted to be founded in mistake. It is an 
error to suppose that persons who have been immersed 
in the warm bath are more liable to take cold ; for the 
body is better able to resist cold after warm and vapour 
bathing, than at any other time." " The vapour bath 
used in this country [England] is simple in construc- 
tion and effectual in application. It is an apparatus 
to which the steam of boiling water, either simple or 
medicated, is conveyed through pipes from a common 
steam boiler. In this apparatus, the stimulant power 
of heat is tempered and modified by the moisture dif- 
fused through the air ; and as the elastic vapour, like 
air, is a less powerful conductor of heat than a watery 
fluid, the effect of vapour in raising the temperature 
of the body, is much less than that of the hot bath. 



48 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

Its heating effects are also further diminished by the 
copious perspiration which ensues ; so that, on every 
account, the vapour bath is safer, in most cases more 
effectual than the hot water bath, and may be em- 
ployed with success when the latter would be attended 
with danger. It may be applied also to the whole, or 
to any part of the body. To effect this, the steam is 
conveyed into a wagon-roof frame, under a blanket or 
other covering, to confine the steam. The temperature 
of the vapour bath is from one hundred and ten to 
one hundred and twenty degrees ; and, though from 
ten to fifteen minutes is generally sufficient, there 
may be cases where an hour may be necessary. 

Whenever the cold bath is deemed proper, the 
warm bath should first be used as a preparative. The 
bather should always go into the cold bath when 
warm, and seldom exceed one plunge, which produces 
a glowing and healthful appearance of the counte- 
nance, and an additional flow of spirits. " After the 
body is properly dried and rubbed, the cool air is 
grateful and perfectly safe. There is no danger 
whatever from cold — we are less liable to take cold 
after warm and vapour bathing, than at any other 
time. When the bath is used for cleanliness, refresh- 
ment, or as a luxury, the above rule admits of no 
exceptions. ,, 

" The vapour bath is to be used in all cases of fever, 
when perspiration is particularly desirable. The more 
immediate and general effects of this bath in fever, 
are, that it disposes to a calm and sound sleep, and 
regulates the discharge from the skin : the- increase 
of the, symptoms is lessened, if not prevented ; the 
head is prevented from delirium, and the symptoms 
are moderated till the disease terminates. It has also 
been found beneficial in inflammation of the bowels, 
complaints of the liver, dropsy, water in the head, 



sick man's friend. 49 

glandular swellings of the neck, calculus complaints, 
gout, leprosy, white swelling, strangulated hernia, 
affections of the skin, &c." Our author then gives a 
long list of diseases, in which he says the cold bath 
is injurious, and adds— " On the other hand, the 
warm and vapour bath, properly regulated, will be 
found principal agents in curing most of the fore* 
going disorders." 

"In eruptions of every kind, in edematous (dough- 
like) swellings of the limbs; in stiffness and contrac- 
tion of the joints ; in all those diseases called nervous ; 
in every case requiring a course of mercury, [I should 
rather say, that has had a course of mercury— I know 
of none that requires it;] in early infancy ; in the 
decline of life to the last stage of existence, the warm 
and vapour bath may be used with advantage and 
safety. 

Let it be remembered that, by our author, steam is 
considered the principal agent in curing not only the 
diseases enumerated, but nobody knows how many 
others represented by the significant &c, and that 
the 1 homsomans use internal remedies so much more 
active against disease, and in favour of life, as to 
throw steam, valuable as it is, into the character of a 
mere auxiliary-a faithful nurse only that waits on 
the doctor. If steam alone, then, merits the high 
commendations I have quoted, what should be the 
meed of praise awarded to a full Thomsonian course. 
Could even the author of the Botanic System him- 
selr, have desired a more particular or accurate 
description of his steam-bath, or a more commenda- 
tory account of its usefulness and safety, than what 
« given m the above quotations 1 How completely 
aoes this author sweep away the objections of " weak- 
ening, "rendering liable to take cold," "causing 
nflammations," "congestions," "delirium," "en- 
4 



50 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

gorgements," " hemorrhages," and a thousand other 
bug-bear evils 1 

But, it may be said, this is only his opinion ; he 
does not give the proof. Very well — let us draw the 
proof from other testimony. 

" Facts,— Dr. Wiilich says, [Domestic Encyclope- 
dia, vol. 1, page 160,] — The sweating or vapour bath 
is Used in Russia, by persons of every rank and age, 
in almost every disorder, before and after a journey, 
hard work, &c. These are frequented at least once 
a week, or as often as possible, whether in a state of 
health or sickness. 

"The extraordinary degree of heat produced by the 
evaporation of water thrown upon red-hot stones, in 
a close room, raises the thermometer to 146 or 168 
degrees — a degree of heat considerably above that 
which melts wax, and only twelve degrees below that 
for boiling spirits of wine. In such a bath the Rus- 
sians lie naked on a bench, notwithstanding a profuse 
perspiration, sometimes for two hours, occasionally 
pouring hot water over their bodies, and at length 
plunge over head into a large tub of water. Many 
rush out almost dissolved in sweat, and either throw 
themselves into the adjoining river, or roll themselves 
in snow during the most piercing cold, without suffer- 
ing any inconvenience, and probably with advantage ; 
for we understand that rheumatisms are scarcely 
known in Russia, and there is great reason to attribute 
this exemption to the vapour bath." Dr. Charleton, 
who used the warm bath freely, says : — " Of 996 
paralytics, most of whom had resisted the power of 
medicine, 813 were benefited by the proper applica- 
tion of the warm bath." — lb. In his views of the 
Russian Empire, the Rev. W. Tooke says : " It is 
not to be doubted that the Russians owe their lon- 
gevity, their robust state of health, their little dispo- 



51 

sition to certain mortal diseases, and their happy, 
cheerful temper, mostly to their baths. This remedy 
of nature's own invention, was employed with so 
much success that, for five hundred years, Rome had 
no* other physicians." M. Savary, in his Letters on 
Egypt, says : M The Egyptians employ the vapour 
bath, for the purpose of procuring delightful sensa- 
tions, and removing that irksomeness and apathy 
which is the concomitant of an idle and sensual 
life," &c 

Remark. — The Turks, Egyptians, and Russians 
bathe ; the Persians and Hindoos champoon : the 
Russians jump from the steam-room into rivers, or 
wallow in snow, and all for " pleasure," " luxury," 
" delightful sensations," &c. And shall we be told 
that a Thomsonian steam-bath, with all its concomi- 
tant circumstances, which would immeasurably en- 
hance the value of the above mentioned vapour baths, 
is almost as much to be dreaded as death itself ] Be 
assured, my friends, that they who speak any evil of 
such a bath, are either very ignorant themselves, or 
else they presume on an ignorance in you, that is, to 
say the least of it, disgraceful to a free and enlight- 
ened community. Dr. Cooper, of South Carolina, 
recommends a steam apparatus much like those used 
by Botanic practitioners, and says he has often used 
it with a happy effect. Can the steam that is sanative 
and luxurious in South Carolina and Russia, that 
procures delightful sensations and a beautiful glow in 
the countenance in Egypt, Turkey, and Persia, de- 
stroy all the health and beauty of the robust sons and 
fair daughters of this enlightened city ] For myself, 
I can safely declare that, in all my observations of the 
practice on persons of all ages, of both sexes, in a 
great variety of conditions and diseases, I have never 
known steam to do the least harm. On the contrary, 



52 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

I agree most cordially with the authors quoted, " that, 
when properly regulated, the steam bath will always 
be attended with advantage and safety." 



CHAPTER IV. 

The system on which Dr. Thomson's mode of ad' 
ministering medicine is founded; which are the 
few following, simple, and just principles. 

1. That the constitutions of all mankind are essen- 
tially alike, and differ only in the different temper of 
the same materials of which they are composed. The 
materials or elements of which all are formed, as enu- 
merated by M agejtdie, are phosphorus, sulphur, car- 
bon, iron, manganese, potash, lime, soda, silica or 
sand, alumina or pure clay, muriatic acid, water, 
oxygen, hydrogen, azote, caloric, or the principle of 
heat, light, and the electric and magnetic fluids; 
which Dr. Thomson, for brevity's sake, has resolved 
into four grand divisions ; namely, earth, air, fire, and 
water; and adds, earth and water constitute the 
solids of the body, which are made active by air and 
fire. This last element, in a peculiar manner, gives 
life and motion to the rest : And when entirely over- 
powered by any cause whatever, death ensues. 

Note. — Different numbers and portions of the ele- 
mentary substances united together, form what are 
termed the proximate materials or principles of ani- 
mals. These are albumen, fibrin, gelatin, mucus, the 
cheese-curd principle, urea, osmazome, the colouring 
matter of the blood, and the yellow colouring matter 
of the bile, &c. &c. &c. 

Albumen is a principal material in the composition 



53 

of both the solids and fluids of the animal body. It 
resembles the white of an egg ; and is coagulated by 
heat, as the white of an egg is by cooking ; by which 
it may be distinguished from all other animal fluids. 

Fibrin is a principal constituent of the blood, and 
is the basis of the muscles or flesh ; and is therefore 
one of the most abundant, of the animal fluids. 

Gelatin exists copiously in many of the solid parts 
of j;he body ; such as the cartilages, tendons, mem- 
branes, and bones, but not in any of the healthy fluids. 
It is that which produces the jelly, after boiling the 
skin or legs of animals, and, when properly prepared, 
forms glue. 

We might go on with a lengthy description of all 
the principles which enter into the composition of 
animal bodies ; but as this would be of but little in- 
terest or advantage to the common reader, we will 
desist. 

2. That the construction and organization of the 
human frame, is in all men essentially the same. 
They have similar solids and fluids, viz. : bones, car- 
tilages, tendons, nerves, muscles, veins, arteries, flesh, 
blood, and other juices, body, and parts, or members. 

3. That all are sustained in a manner as similar 
as their formation, from the earth, the common mother 
of us all. Of the elements man is made, and by the 
same elements he is supported. 

4. That a state of perfect health arises from a 'due 
balance or temperature of these elements. But when 
this is by any means destroyed, the body is more or 
less disordered. And when this is the case, there is 
always an actual diminution or absence of the ele- 
ment fire or heat, and in proportion to this diminu- 
tion or absence of heat, the body is affected with its 
opposite, cold. [(Xj^This is what the calomel doctors 
call catching or taking cold ! ! !] The former (heat) is 



54 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

nature itself, the best physician of the body ; the latter 
(cold) its enemy ; the first is the health and life of 
the body, the last its disease and death. 

5. That all disorders, however various the symp- 
toms, and different the names by which they are 
called, arise directly or indirectly from obstructed 
perspiration. The many evils derived from hence, 
must be obvious, when it is considered, that the dis- 
charge from the body thereby, is greater by one 
eighth, than by all the other evacuations combined. 
Obstructed perspiration may be produced by a great 
variety of causes : such as anxiety, and sorrow of 
mind, by severe study, and any sudden emotion, as 
anger or joy ; by intemperance, as drunkenness, glut- 
tony, or too little sustenance ; from any kind of 
irregularity, from inaction, or too severe labour ; from 
too much sleep or too little ; from sudden changes of 
habit, or in the atmosphere ; from bad air, or un- 
wholesome diet; from wounds, bruises, burns, or 
chills, and from any injury, whether external or in- 
ternal. In a word, from whatever diminishes the 
active energy of heat or nature. 

6. Now, as all men have similar constitutions, 
being formed of the same materials differently tem- 
pered : as their construction and organization essen- 
tially agree : as they are all sustained from the same 
elements which form their composition : as a just 
balance, and due proportion and operation of those 
elements produce a state of health, and the reverse 
destroys it : as ail the forms of disease take their im- 
mediate rise from insensible perspiration in a greater 
or less degree obstructed : as this is an effect univer- 
sally produced from whatever is injurious to the sys- 
tem, as the distant and original cause of disease — it is 
evident, that those medicines which are most agreea- 
ble to nature, and efficacious in removing obstructions, 



55 

and the evils thereby produced, and restoring the equi- 
librium, activity, and energy of the system, must be 
the best, and universally applicable. For, be it re- 
membered, that DISEASE IS A UNIT. 

7. No medicine can with certainty be depended 
upon in removing disease, except so far as it is known 
to act in harmony with the living powers, or vital 
principle ; hence all poisons are expunged from this 
system of practice ; and nothing is given to sick per- 
sons under the name of medicine, that would induce 
disease, or cause persons in health to become sick. 
The medicine used in this practice is variously com- 
pounded, and is powerful ; but innocent as powerful. 
It is warming, opening, searching, penetrating, puri- 
fying, quickening, and quieting. AH these qualities 
it absolutely possesses, and is therefore suited to the 
disorder of the human frame, whatever may be the 
name given it. 

8. Every animated body has its proportion of 
caloric or heating principle, suited to its size, adapted 
to its nature, proportioned to that degree of living 
power requisite to keep up the operation of all the 
animal functions, essential to the perpetuating of the 
peculiar specific form and mode of being in such 
animal. 

9. The heat of animal fire, or that degree and con- 
dition of it that constitutes the living state of animal- 
ized existence, is maintained and continued by a 
suitable supply of appropriate fuel, or materials that 
are naturally adapted to that end or, use, these are 
food and medicines.^TD These harmonize with 
each other in their salutary effect, or natural influence 
on animal bodies. 

10. Food and medicine originate from the same mu- 
nificent Hand, grow in the same field, and are adapted 
to the same end or design, viz. : to supply fuel to the 



56 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

fire of life, to sustain and nourish the animal machine 
by warming, dilating, filling the vascular system 
maintaining the action, and supplying the wasting 
powers of the living state. Medicine removes disease 
not only by removing obstructions, but by restoring 
and repairing the waste and decay of nature. 

11. On these supplies our life depends, viz.: the 
continuance of that state of warmth and action which 
constitutes the living state. When food is masticated 
and taken into the stomach, the process of digestion 
commences. By the warmth and action of the organs 
of digestion and the gastric juices, the food is decom- 
posed or consumed like fuel consuming in a fire. 
The breath and perspirable vapour, are the smoke 
arising from this fire. The fecal matter of dejections 
are as the ashes or earthy substance remaining after 
the consumption of fuel. 

12. To understand the cause and nature of life 
and death, or of warmth and motion of cold and in- 
action, it is necessary to advert to general principles, 
and the analogies of nature. There is one general 
cause of the natural sensation of hunger, and one 
general method to relieve that want, or satisfy and 
relieve that sensation. Suitable food relieves hunger 
when taken into the stomach. 

13. In perfect accordance with this, there is but 
one immediate cause of disease — however varied the 
remote cause may be, the immediate cause of the sen- 
sation of disease is uniformly and invariably the same, 
differing only in degree, and incidental diversity of 
symptoms, occasioned by local injuries, organic lesion, 
or functional derangement dependent on these, or 
whatever might predispose to a diseased state. 

14. As there is one general cause of the sensation 
of hunger, to be relieved by one general method, viz. : 
by food, and this food may consist of sundry articles 



57 

adapted to the same general end, so there is one 
general, or immediate cause of the sensation of dis- 
ease, to be relieved or removed upon one general 
principle, though a variety of articles may be used. 
But as a few simple articles of diet are better suited 
to maintain a healthy state of body than an epicu- 
rean variety ; so disease is more readily and certainly 
removed by a few simple remedies, that are best 
adapted to the human constitution. 

15. That medicine that will most readily and safely 
open obstructions, promote perspiration and restore a 
salutary operation of the digestive powers, by exciting 
and maintaining a due degree of heat and action 
through the system, is best suited to every state or 
form of disease, and must be universally applicable to 
a diseased state of the human system. 

16. Thus I have given a summary view of the 
outlines of my conceptions of the construction and 
elementary composition and constitution of the human 
body in a living state, whether healthy or diseased. 
The power or faculty of breathing is a capacity or 
condition to be acted on with effect, rather than any 
inherent power or faculty of acting. Heat rarifying 
and lightening air excites respiration : rarifying and 
lightening water excites perspiration. Rarifying and 
lightening air and water, the vapour of breath and 
sweat are produced and thrown off. 

17. By heating water in the stomach we lighten 
the air in, and expand the lungs — the weight of the 
cool condensed and weightier external air, presses out 
the light and rarified air ; these circumstances of the 
living state of the animal body, occasion the alternate 
contractions and dilations of the lungs, that constitute 
the action of breathing, indispensable to the living 
state. 

18. By heating water in the stomach and air in 



58 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

the lungs, we put the steam engine into operation. 
The operation of the animal machine strongly resem- 
bles the mechanical operations of the steam engine. 
Some of the fundamental principles of action are the 
same. In inspiration cool fresh air is inhaled, in re- 
spiration the rarified lightened air and vapour are 
exhaled or thrown off, out of, or from the steam pipe. 
This action by which steam is expended, the whole 
machinery of the living animal is kept in operation 
— the great fountain pump of the heart is kept in 
play, and pumps the blood through the lungs and 
arteries to the extremities, deep in the flesh and near 
the bones, which is returned in the veins. The 
warmth and action commencing at the fountain are 
propagated through the system to the remotest ex- 
tremities. 

19. So long as the fire keeps up that state and de- 
gree of warmth essential to the living state of the 
animal body, or, to speak figuratively, so long as the 
fire is kept good in the boiler, to keep the engine at 
work, so long the pump will go. 

20. Our regular meals supply regular fuel to keep 
up animal heat, as the regular teasing and tending 
a fire with wood will keep it burning. Drink supplies 
the boiler with water, which creates the steam : con- 
densed water is discharged through its natural channel. 

21. On these principles of the philosophy of life 
we may expect a regular, well-formed machine to 
continue its operations until worn out, or broken by 
the indiscretion and bad management of the engineers. 

22. If the machine be intrusted to the management 
of an ignorant, incompetent engineer, who has no 
correct conceptions of the principles of life and mo- 
tion, and is negligent in the discharge of his duty, 
your steamboat, if I may so speak, will begin to fail 
in its speed, for lack of fuel to keep up the fire and 



59 

water to supply the steam ; or the engineer may con- 
clude the cholera affects the machine, and will cast 
ice into the boiler to cool it down, or tap the boiler as 
a preventive or remedy, and draw off the hot water — 
his boat begins to sink rapidly down stream. This 
is often done by the lancet. 

23. If you would keep your steamboat's steam- 
breath motions going on, keep up a supply of water 
in the boiler, and a supply of fuel to keep it suffi- 
ciently warm : raise the steam, and the actions of life 
will proceed regularly. 

24. Concerning the doctrine of a vital principle 
diffused through the whole organic structure of the 
animal machine, inducing an elementary mode of 
union, or specific union of the component elements, 
differing in nature from all chymical union and affini- 
ties, and from all the laws of physical union with 
which we are acquainted, we would just observe that 
this subject has employed the minds and pens of 
many, talented writers, who have cast but little valua- 
ble light on the intricate theme. 

25. When we are asked what constitutes a living 
fibre, we might as well ask what constitutes any other 
property of living matter. What constitutes that in 
which the life of a leaf or stem of a living tree con- 
sists — " What can we reason but from what we 
know ]" Every living thing has something peculiar 
to the nature or life with which it is endowed in the 
living state, whether vegetable or animal : but a living 
animal has heat and motion ; without this animal 
heat and motion the animal becomes dead : without 
a due proportion of heat inward and outward, or out- 
ward and inward, there is no animal motion, no ani- 
mal life. 

26. We know not of any vital principle, except a 
capacity to be brought into that peculiar mode, state, 



60 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

and degree of warmth and action, constituting ani- 
malization, or the sensitive living state of animal 
bodies. 

27. Warmth and action do not constitute animal 
life, in unorganized matter; they do not constitute 
animal life without an organized animal structure, to 
which heat gives the impulse applied to and connected 
with the animal structure ; caloric, or the principle of 
heat, rarifying and lightening air, excites action, which 
circumstance of being, constitutes animalization or 
the living state. 

28. Warmth and action do not constitute animal 
life, only as applied to, connected with, and exercised 
in an organized animal body, possessing a capacity 
inherent in its nature to be put in operation, in which 
state or condition of being, sensation, perception, and 
consciousness of identity, or individual existence, arc 
gradually developed : but these circumstances of life 
are not life itself — there may be animal life, viz.: breath 
and motion, in an animal bqp'y where these func- 
tional powers are totally deranged or utterly extinct. 

29. Fire and steam are necessary to propel a steam- 
boat, but notwithstanding the capacity or adaptation of 
the mechanical structure to be propelled, the boat will 
not go until the fire is kindled and the steam raised 
to put it in motion. 

30. The animal body is a machine so constructed, 
so modified, endowed with such a capacity for life, 
call it vital principle, or what you please, that heat, 
rarifying and lightening air, stimulating and expand- 
ing the lungs, puts the machinery in motion, and 
pumps the tide of life through all its crimson chan- 
nels. This combination of circumstances constitutes 
the living state of the living animal, for where these 
circumstances do not exist, there is no animal life — - 
the animal form is dead. 



61 

3 1 . Suppose a man in all the vigour of life falls 
into the water and sinks, in a few minutes he is taken 
out apparently dead, the warmth and motions of life, 
if not extinct, are at a low ebb — as soon as you can 
kindle up the decayed spark, and restore inward heat 
by medicine, friction, or any appropriate means, if the 
capacity for the action of life is not utterly extinct, an 
energy is given to the system, the air in his lungs be- 
coming warm, rarifies, and expands, and heaves them 
into action — the machinery begins to move — the 
wheels of life no longer wallow in back water — the 
proper state and proportion of heat inward and out- 
ward is recovered — nature rises to its wonted strength 
and vigour. 

32. All that is requisite in such a case, is to sup- 
ply fuel to raise the latent spark of the fire of life. 
The same holds good in a collapsed state of disease, 
whether it appears in a cholera form, or whatever 
shape it may wear. The vascular system loses its 
wonted tone, the whole system is sinking — the power 
of life is unable to distend and expand the lungs ; the 
heart and arteries no longer propel their contents by 
maintaining the requisite action. The spark of life 
is becoming extinct ; the water that should breathe, 
exhale, and perspire away, becomes congestively con- 
densed and extinguishes the spark of living fire. The 
coolness and weight of the internal air is too much 
for the small degree of heat remaining in the lungs, 
heart, &c. ; the power of life, or rather the power or 
capacity to live, to keep the powers of animal life in 
their warm and moving, or living state, become mea- 
surably extinct. For lack of heat, the air in the lungs 
is not rarified and lightened so as to give the necessary 
action, &c. 

33. In this case, shield the sufferer from surround- 
ing cold air, by wrapping in a blanket, placing warm 



62 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR* 

in bed, and gradually raising a steam around him ; 
administer gradually, frequently, and perseveringly 
the warming medicines, and giving injections, which 
all acquainted with my system will readily understand 
— proceed until you can gain a sufficient degree of 
inward heat to expand freely, to rouse the sinking, 
fainting, I might say drowning patient, to a proper 
degree of warmth and action ; when they have pur- 
sued a proper course, they will sweat freely; and 
when they crave food, give them enough to keep up 
the steam— ^-the pump of life will begin to work freely, 
and the patient to rejoice in the warmth and action 
arising from the resuscitated powers of departing life. 
34. Much has been said about drawing in the 
breath ; but the fact is, you cannot keep the breath- 
air out, so long as there is a due degree, or natural 
proportion of heat in the lungs ; neither can you pre- 
vent the motion of the pump-like action of your 
heart in its systole and diastole. But when the heat 
decays, or state of living warmth declines, the lungs 
begin to labour like a wheel wading slowly in back 
water. The pump has not power to roll the blood 
along the arterial canals, the pulse falters — the extre- 
mities grow cold — the blood that maintained the 
warmth, by its active circulation, recedes from the 
extremities — there is not heat enough at the fountain 
or boiler to keep up the steam, and continue the 
living action — blood settles in the veins, not being 
supplied and propelled by the pulsation in the arteries 
— the fire becomes extinct — the pump no longer plays 
at the fountain — the man dies ****** for want of 
breath j^PD for want of capacity to breathe, or because 
the inward heat is reduced below the living point. 
The proper and natural proportion and modification 
of the inward and outward heat, as they exist in the 
living animal, becomes deranged, destroyed, and life 



sick man's friend. 63 

extinct. The disease is as contagious as though the 
man had been ****** hanged or drowned / / / 

35. It has been thought expedient to use some re- 
petitions, that the leading ideas being variously ex- 
pressed, might be more clearly illustrated, and easily 

* understood by the common reader. 

36. The regular faculty are requested to inquire, 
whether the depleting antiphlogistic practice that has 
been popular and notoriously mortal in its results has 
not been the cause of producing much disease, and 
many of the most fatal results that have attended on 
what has been called scarlet fever, yellow fever, cold 
plague, and noyj cholera. 

37. I am aware of being accused of skepticism by 
some capricious critics ; though I do not interfere 
with the polemic debates of those theological dis- 
putants who too often confuse the minds and disturb 
the peace of society. If it may serve to pacify the 
ingenuous feelings of any honest inquirer after truth, 
I would just observe that " the breath of life" is in- 
haled or breathed into man, and by heat rarifying air 
breathing commences, and man thus becomes, and is 
thus sustained a living animal. How far my ideas 
contravene the declaration of Moses on this subject, 
let those who are wiser than myself determine. 

38. In conclusion, I would remark that the causes of 
vegetable and animal life are the same, viz. : one com- 
mon principle produces similar effects : Nutritive life 
in animals and vegetables bears a striking resemblance 
to each other ; vegetables, like animals, are constituted 
or formed of the four great cardinal elements ; all 
vegetable life is under the control, influence, and ope- 
ration of similar principles as that of an animal. 
Without earth, water, fire, and air, nothing like 
vegetation could exist. The winter season is a state 
of death to vegetation : just in proportion to the loss 



64 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

of heat is the degree of the suspension of life : we mean 
a loss of heat in that peculiar modification or elemen- 
tary combination thereof that constitutes the living 
state of a vegetable : this is a degree of death, or a 
degree of the suspension of vegetable life. In many 
instances the suspension is total. 

39. In cold countries, after the winter has passed 
away and the spring returns, suspended vegetation 
and suspended animation are again restored ; the tor- 
pid reptile again inhales the breath of life. Heat in 
this case is not only an agent of restoration to life 
and vigour, but is so adapted to the condition of the 
being on which its influence is exerted as to consti- 
tute a living principle — so, on the other hand, cold is 
not only an approximation to death, but that degree 
of cold which is inconsistent with and contrary to the 
living state is death itself. 

40. Heat does not act alone and independent of 
its fraternal elements, but in harmony and accordance 
with the whole family. But without their elder 
brother, there is no life in the material universe. The 
elements would rest in everlasting silence and inac- 
tivity if destitute of this generative father of life and 
motion. 

41. Abstract the element of fire from all the other 
elements, stillness and silence would be universal ; 
the life of all that breathes and moves would be swal- 
lowed up in the stillness of eternal death. Earth and 
sea would be and remain a solid, un moving, and im- 
moveable mass ; the fluid air would be consolidated 
to the flinty hardness of the diamond on its native 
rock; creation would be a blank — and **/**** here 
I pause ! ! ! 

42. We will conclude this chapter by a few gene- 
ral remarks on Fever, in order to show the mistake 
of doctors and others, concerning the great variety of 



sick man's friend. 65 

fevers which it is supposed people have, and often die 
of. Our author remarks : — Much has been said and 
written upon fevers by the professedly learned doctors 
of medicine, without throwing the most profitable 
light on the subject, or greatly benefiting mankind. 
They have been abundantly fruitful in inventing 
names for the various forms of disease, and with great 
care and accuracy distinguished their different symp- 
toms ; but they appear quite barren as to the know- 
ledge of their origin and remedy. To the first but 
little importance, comparatively speaking, can be at- 
tached ; but the latter is of the highest importance to 
all classes of people. Names are merely arbitrary 
sounds,- and the knowledge of a name is but the 
anise and cummin ; but in the knowledge of the 
origin of a malady, and its antidote, or remedy, lie 
the more weighty matters of the science. 

43. According to the writings of learned physi- 
cians, there are a great variety of fevers, some more, 
and some less dangerous. But to begin with a defi- 
nition of the Name : What is fever 1 Heat, un- 
doubtedly, though a disturbed operation of it. But, 
is there in the human frame more than one kind of 
heat 1 Yes, says the physician, (strange as it may 
appear to us common folks,) there is the pleuretic 
heat, the bilious heat, the typhus heat, the slow ner- 
vous heat, the putrid heat, the hectic heat, the yellow 
heat, the spotted or cold heat, and many other heats 
[in all about thirty-nine !] and sometimes (cala- 
mitous to tell) one poor patient has the most, or the 
whole of these heals or fevers, and dies at last for the 
want of heat ! ! ! 

44. Is fever or heat a disease 1 Hippocrates, the 
acknowledged father of physicians, maintained that 
nature is heat ; and he is correct. Is nature a dis- 

? surely it is not. What is commonly called 
5 



66 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

fever, is the effect, and not the cause of disease. 
" Fever is an effort of nature, to rid herself of an 
offending cause." It is the struggle of nature to 
throw off disease. The cold causes an obstruction, 
and fever arises in consequence of that obstruction, 
to throw it off. Remove the cause, — that is, the ob- 
struction, — and the effect— that is, the fever — will 
cease. No person ever yet died of a fever ; for as 
death approaches, the patient grows cold, until, in 
death, the last spark of vital heat is extinguished. 
This the parchment gentry cannot deny ; and as 
this is true, they ought in justice — yea, in mercy to 
their fellow-beings, acknowledge that their whole 
train of depletive remedies, such as bleeding, blistering, 
physicking, starving, with all their r efriger olives ; 
their opium, mercury, arsenic, antimojtt, nitre, 
&c, are so many deadly engines, combined with the 
disease, against the constitution and life of the pa- 
tient. If cold, which is the commonly received opi- 
nion, (and which is true,) is the cause of fever, to 
repeatedly bleed the patient, and administer mercury, 
opium, nitre, and other refrigerants, to restore him. to 
health — is as though a man should, to increase a fire 
in his room, throw a part of his fire out of the house, 
and to increase the remainder, put on water, snow, 
and ice ! 

45. As it is a fact, that cannot be successfully de- 
nied, that fever (and all other forms of disease) takes 
its rise from one great cause or origin, it follows of 
course that one general method of removing that 
cause will answer in all cases ; and the great princi- 
ple is, to assist nature, which is heat. 

46. At the commencement of a fever, by a direct 
and proper application of suitable medicine, it can be 
easily and speedily removed, and the patient need 
not be confined long. Twenty-four or forty-eight 



SICK MANS FRIEND. 67 

hoars , to the extent, are sufficient ; and often short of 
that time, the fever may be removed, or that which is 
the cause of it. But when the patient is left, unas- 
sisted, to struggle with the disease, until his strength 
is exhausted, and more especially, when the most un- 
natural and injurious administrations are made, if a 
recovery is at all possible, it must of necessity take a 
longer time. These declarations are true, and have 
been often proved, and can be again, to the satisfac- 
tion of every candid person, who will lay their preju- 
dices aside, and will make themselves acquainted with 
the truths contained in this little book. 

The venerable and intelligent Dr. Hervet held 
forth the following language just before his death. 

" By what unaccountable perversity in our natures 
does it appear, that we set ourselves so much against 
every thing that is new % Can any one behold, without 
scorn, such drones of physicians, that after the space 
of so many hundred years' experience and practice of 
their predecessors, not one single medicine has been 
detected, that has the least force directly to prevent, 
to oppose, resist, and repel a continued fever. Should 
any one, by a more sedulous observation, pretend to 
make the least step towards the discovery of such re- 
medies, their hatred and envy would swell against 
him, as a legion of devils against virtue ; the whole 
society would dart their malice at him, and torture 
him with all the calumnies imaginable, without 
striking at any thing that should destroy him root 
and branch. For he who professes to be a reformer 
in the art of physic, must resolve to run the hazard 
of the martyrdom of his reputation, life, and estate.^ 

Dr. Thomson says, — " The treatment which the 
writer has received from some of the learned physi- 
cians, since his discovery of the remedy for the fever, 
and various other diseases, is a proof of the truth of 



68 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; TrK, 

this last saying of Dr. Hervey. They have impri- 
soned him, and charged him with every thing cruel 
and unjust ; though, upon a fair trial, their violent 
dealings have come down upon their heads ; while he 
has not only been proved innocent before the court, 
but useful ; having relieved many which the other 
physicians had given over to die." 

Yes, fellow-citizens, even in America, " the land 
of the free, and the home of the brave," the generous, 
undaunted, and persevering Dr. Thomson has been 
imprisoned in a filthy dungeon, in the dead of winter, 
without fire ; and tried for his life ; because he Would 
put his discoveries into the hands of the people, for 
their own bene^t ; thereby striking a death-blow at 
the very root of doctor-craft. Circumstances forced 
him to put his powerful mind into action, the result 
of which will be an everlasting benefit to all those 
who choose to profit by it. He has found out reme^ 
dies which, any one alone, might be sufficient to have 
immortalized his name. The truth of which, I trust, 
will be apparent to all who will carefully peruse this 
volume through. 



CHAPTER V. 

A description of the most common forms of disease, 
with the mode of treatment according to the true 
Thomsonian principles. 

ABSCESSES, {Common.) 
Causes. — Deep-seated inflammation, &c. 
Symptoms. — Cold shivering, shooting pains, throb- 
irig,- &c. 

Treatment. — When the symptoms are violent, give 



STCK MAN'S FRIEND. 69 

a full course of medicine without delay : apply a 
poultice of pulverized slippery-elm bark and ginger, 
mixed with a tea of No. 3, and after the abscess 
breaks, apply the poultice or salve until a cure is 
effected. 

ACIDITIES, (in the Stomachs of Children.) 
Causes. — Costiveness ; improper or too much food ; 
bad milk ; weak digestion ; natural tendency, &c. 

Symptoms. — Crying, restlessness, hiccup, vomit- 
ing, green stools, sour belchings, drawing up of the 
legs, &c. 

Treatment. — Give two or three doses of composi- 
tion tea, with a piece of sal seratus as big as a pea in 
one of the doses ; then give an emetic of No. 1, or of 
the " Infant's Emetic ;" and after the operation of the 
emetic is over, give the u Infant Drops," or the No. 4 
syrup, or spiced bitter tea, to restore the digestion. 

AGUES AND FEVERS. 

Causes. — Marsh effluvia ; poor diet ; fatigue ; in- 
temperance ; damp rooms or beds ; unripe fruit, &c. 

Symptoms. — Cold shivering languor ; pain in the 
head and loins ; coldness of the extremities ; with 
sometimes great sickness and vomiting ; to which 
succeed shivering and violent shaking ; after comes 
on hot burning fever. These symptoms returning 
in 24, 48, or 72 hours. 

Treatment. — Full courses of medicine repeated 
every day, or every other day ; with generous nou- 
rishing food ; using, at the same time, the hot bitters, 
three or four times a day, until a cure is effected. 

In some violent cases, where the above treatment 
seemed to be almost useless, having been faithfully 
pursued for two or three weeks, without success ; I 
have succeeded in arresting the disease, and breaking 
up the above symptoms by using the " Ague Chaser'' 



70 the good Samaritan; or, 

instead of hot bitters. Still, however, I think the 
No. 4 bitters are the best, unless the s}'stem has been 
previously oppressed with too much hot medicine. 

ASTHMA, {Difficulty of Breathing.) 
Causes. — Spasmodic affection of the lungs, brought 
on by almost every thing that increases the action of 
the heart ; atmospherical influence ; noxious vapours, 
or fumes of metals or minerals taken into the lungs. 
In a word, the disease may proceed from any cause, 
that either impedes the circulation of the blood 
through the lungs, or prevents their being duly ex- 
panded by the air. 

Symptoms. — Fulness and oppression (with a 
wheezing noise) about the chest and stomach ; fever, 
headache, &c. 

Treatment. — If suddenly attacked, or during a 
paroxysm of asthma, take a full course immediately, 
or immerse the feet in warm water as hot as can be 
borne, and drink freely of composition, ginger, or 
cayenne tea, until a perspiration ensues ; then go to 
bed, and put steaming bricks or a jug of hot water to 
the feet, and take one or two table-spoonsful of Tinc- 
ture of Lobelia, or the Cough Drops — if this dose 
should puke, drink composition, No. 3, or spearmint 
tea to cleanse the stomach ; after which, take some 
light food, and when the sweating begins to abate, 
wipe dry, and change tne clothes; afterwards take 
from a half to two tea-spoonfuls of the Tincture or 
Drops, three or four times a day, until cured. The 
above treatment should be repeated, if necessary. 

BILE {Vomiting of.) 
Causes. — Foul stomach ; indigestion, &c. 
Symptoms. — Frequent nausea, and vomiting bili- 
ous matter ; soreness and distentions of the stomach, 
&c. 



71 

Treatment. — The same a3 Acidities ; giving a 
course, if necessary, and the bitters to correct the bile 
and assist digestion. 

BILES. 

Causes. — Foulness of the blood; scorbutic affec- 
tions, &c. 

Symptoms. — Hard, circumscribed, and exquisitely 
painful tumors. 

Treatment. — Cleanse the system of canker by 
using No. 3 and taking an emetic ; then poultice till 
ready to be opened — lance and apply the poultice or 
salve till cured. 

BLEEDING FROM THE NOSE. (Epistazis.) 

Causes. — Fulness of habit ; determination to the 
head, &c. 

Symptoms. — Pain in x the head, heaviness, lassi- 
tude, &c. 

Treatment. — Place the patient's feet in warm wa- 
ter — keep him warm by giving Composition, with a 
teaspoonful of No. 6 in each dose. If this does not 
succeed in a short time, give an emetic, and apply the 
steam to equalize the circulation : as soon as this ii 
effected, the bleeding will cease. 

In all cases of bleeding from the stomach, or lungs, 
or uterus, let it be your chief aim to obtain an equi- 
librium in the circulation : when this is accomplished, 
there will be no more unequal pressure of the blood 
on the vessels of these organs, or any other part where 
the hemorrhagic determination existed. 

In cases of uterine hemorrhage, a large tea-spoon- 
ful of No. 2 mixed with sweet milk or molasses may 
be given every fifteen or twenty minutes, until several 
doses are taken. The feet must be kept warm at the 
same time ; and the vagina and uterus should be in- 
jected with a strong tea of red raspberry leaves and 



72 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

bayberry, with a tea-spoonful of No. 6 or 3d Prepa- 
ration, blood-warm. This injection, in large quanti- 
ties, should be repeated until the object be obtained. I 
would add, that, in cases of such great emergency, 
emetics should not be omitted, nor injections to the 
bowels dispensed with. The same directions will 
apply to all cases of flooding, whether from miscar- 
riages, or the birth of a full-grown child. 

CHICKEN POCK, (and Variola.) 

Cause. — Specific contagion. 

Symptoms. — Chilliness, succeeded by fever; pain 
in the head ; eruption on the skin, &c. 

Treatment.— First give an emetic, to clear the 
stomach; then Composition, or the Infant Drops 
with a little No. 6 in them, to keep up perspiration ; 
if the bowels are disordered, give injections also. In 
small pox, the same treatment must be applied, and, 
also, full courses of medicine must be given to drive 
the virus from the system and keep the determination 
to the surface. 

CHILBLAINS. 

Cause. — Exposure to severe degrees of cold. 

Symptoms. — Painful inflammatory swelling, of a 
deep purple or lead colour, &c. 

Treatment. — Wrap the limbs in cloths wet with 
cold water, and, at the same time, give hot medicine : 
as cayenne, ginger tea, or Composition, with a tea- 
spoonful of No. 6 in it ; if the skin be off, apply fine 
elm, wet with a tea of No. 3. Burns and scalds 
should be treated as above, keeping the parts burnt 
or scalded constantly wet with cold or lukewarm 
water, for at least 12 hours, or as long as the smart 
returns — and, in all cases where the injury is great, 
a full course must not be omitted. 

Note. — Where the feet are badly frosted, and, of 



73 

course, disagreeably itchy ; take a pot full of dry 
chestnut leaves, after they have fallen from the tree ; 
boil them well, and bathe the feet in the liquor, as 
hot as can be borne, for several nights in succession ; 
after bathing, rub them well with No. 6, and, in a 
short time, a radical cure will be effected. 

CRAMP, (in the Stomach and other parts.) 

Causes. — Spasm of the muscles, from various 
causes, such as exposure to cold ; irritating sub* 
stances in the stomach, &c. 

Symptoms. — Various, according to the cause ; 
wounds, &c. In women, hysterics ; pregnancy, &c. 

Treatment. — Full courses, in which the 3d Prepa- 
ration and injections are freely used, will be the 
speediest way of removing the complaint. The use 
of bitter tonics, accompanied with nerve-powder, are 
also indispensable, after each course. When the 
cramp is in the limbs, rub them with stimulating 
liniments — No. 6 — No. 6, and sweet mixed, or the 
3d Preparation. Friction alone, will sometimes an- 
swer the purpose. 

COLIC (Colica.) 

CAusEs.-^-Crude and ascesent food, wind, redun- 
dance of acrid bile, obstinate costiveness, fumes of 
lead, &c. 

Symptoms. — Distension of the lower belly ; severe 
pains at the pit of the stomach, and about the navel ; 
wandering pains in the bowels, often accompanied 
with vomiting. 

Treatment.-^ Give No. 6, in tea-spoonful doses, 
repeated occasionally. If this should not suffice, 
give an emetic, or a full course immediately 



74 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

CONTUSIONS, (Bruises.) 

Causes. — Mechanical injuries, &c. 

Symptoms. — Pains, swelling, dislocation ; spasms, 
involuntary contraction, &c. 

Treatment. — Apply cold water by the means of 
cloths, and give heating medicine at the same time 
to raise a perspiration : to rub the part affected with 
No. 6, or No. 6 and nerve ointment, or nerve tinc- 
ture mixed, is also very good. A full course is often 
necessary. 

CONVULSIONS, (Fits.) 

Causes. — Teething, worms, bowel complaint, &c. 
in children. In grown persons, exposure to cold, 
sleeping in the open air, or on damp ground ; ob- 
structions in the general circulation, and irregular 
evacuations of the system, &c. 

Treatment. — Persons who are subject to this com- 
plaint, should resort to full courses of medicine imme- 
diately. Between the courses the best means of keep- 
ing up a healthy action, and restoring tone to the 
system, should be attended to ; such as the composi- 
tion tea, with nerve-powder in tea-spoonful doses 
night and morning ; No. 4 bitters, or No. 5 cordial 
with No. 2, in half tea-spoonful doses, should be 
taken three or four times a day. By pursuing this 
course of treatment faithfully, the general health will 
be improved, the digestion restored, the nervous sys- 
tem strengthened, and the disease entirely eradicated. 

COSTIVENESS. 

Causes. — Frequently from neglect of going to 
stool; large quantities of solid food; indigestion; 
copious sweats, &c. 

Treatment. — Give the wine, or No. 4 bitters ; pep- 
per sauce at meals ; and make use of injections. See, 
also, the anti-dyspeptic pills. 



75 

CANCER SORES. 

Cause. — Dr. Thomson says, "a cancer is the 
highest degree of canker, being the most powerful ef- 
fect of cold, and consequently the greatest degree of 
inflammation ; therefore the remedies ought to be 
those of a warming nature, as the greatest preventa- 
tives against cancers. (See New Guide, pp. 104 — 
106.) 

Treatment. — Regular courses to clear the system 
of canker, accompanied with a free use of stimulants, 
tonics, and antiseptics ; applying the cancer plaster at 
the same time to the sore — washing it frequently with 
a strong tea of No. 3, with No. 6 in it. If the cancer 
is not running, take a piece of soft leather — cut a cir- 
cular hole of a suitable size in it, and place the leather 
with the hole directly over the cancer wart, or tu- 
mour : then put a plaster of quicklime and soft soap 
over the hole, which will, in a short time, ripen and 
dissolve the tumour; after which, apply a poultice, or 
the cancer plaster, as above directed. — (See Cancer 
Plaster.) 

COUGHS— COLPS. 

Causes. — From catching cold, changes of tempera- 
ture, wearing of wet clothes, &c. 

Symptoms. — Cough ; expectoration more or less ; 
thin discharges from the nose ; sore throat, &c. 

Treatment. — Take a dose of composition and No. 
6, on going to bed ; apply hot bricks, rolled in wet 
cloths, to the feet ; also take the Cough Powders ; and 
if the cold be of long standing, give a regular course, 
and repeat, if necessary, 

CROUP, (or Phthisis.) 
Cause. — Application of cold, &c. 
Symptoms. — Known chiefly by the sonorous 
whoop of deep inspiration. 



76 the good Samaritan; or, 

Treatment. — Bathe the feet in warm water imme- 
diately ; and while bathing, give from a half to a tea- 
spoonful of the Cough Drops every ten or fifteen 
minutes, until the child pukes. This generally gives 
relief; but if this treatment fails, steam, and take the 
patient through a full course. 

DEAFNESS . 

Causes.— Hardened wax ; deficiency of wax ; 
cold ; inflammation, «&c. 

Symptoms. — Total or partial loss of hearing. 

Treatment. — In most cases of deafness arising 
from the above causes, full courses of medicine are 
indispensable. At the same time apply, by means 
of wool or cotton, hot, stimulating oils ; or drop in 
the ears No. 6 and sweet oil, or tincture lobelia and 
sweet oil, equal parts mixed ; then inject with warm 
soapsuds every twenty-four or forty-eight hours. By 
pursuing the above course of treatment I have cured 
several bad cases of deafness which baffled the skill 
of several eminent physicians. 

DELIRIUM, (Insanity.) 

Causes. — Anxiety, grief, disappointed love, jea- 
lousy, sudden frights, violent fits of anger, religious 
terror, &c, &c, 

Symptoms attending the melancholic madness are, 
dejection of spirits, sadness, love of solitude, unwill- 
ingness to move, singular gestures, &c. Sometimes, 
pain in the head, redness of the face, noise in the ears, 
wildness of the countenance, grinding of the teeth, 
incoherent discourse, malice towards friends and near 
relatives, &c, &c, are symptoms attending furious 
madness. 

Treatment. — The first objects to be attained are 
the confidence, respect, and obedience of the poor 
maniac ; when these are gained, full courses of me- 



SlCK man's friend. 7f 

dicine should be administered, accompanied with a 
free use of the nerve-powder, No. 4 Bitters, and the 
3d Preparation of No. 1. The 3d Preparation, in 
tea-spoonful doses, should be given in a strong tea 
of nerve-powder, three or four times a day, and the 
courses repeated two or three times a week. While 
pursuing this course of treatment, every endeavour 
should be used that would be likely to excite in the 
mind of the patient a lively and agreeable train of 
thought, that he may thereby be brought to forget the 
cause of his wo. 

DIABETES. 

Causes. — Strong diuretic medicines, as spirits of 
turpentine ; intemperance ; acid drinks ; excessive 
grief; severe labour, or any thing which produces 
general debility, &c. 

Symptoms. — A frequent and profuse discharge of 
urine, of a violei smell and sweet taste : attended 
with great thirst, voracious appetite, dry skin, cos- 
tiveness, extreme weakness, and gradual emaciation 
of the whole body. 

Treatment. — Full courses every two or three days. 
Nerve-powder and golden seal in equal parts, in tea- 
spoonful doses, should be given in a tea of Com- 
position, four or five times a day. The skin should 
be washed with a weak solution of pearl-ash, once in 
a day or two ; and rubbed well with flannel or a flesh 
brush, every night and morning. The diet should be 
principally animal food, as this yields more nourish- 
ment to the feeble powers of the system, than vegeta- 
ble aliment. In aged persons this complaint is rarely 
ever cured. 

DIARRHCEA OR LOOSENESS, (Dysenteria.) 
In diarrhoea, the stools assume variovis.appearances. 
Sometimes they are of the common colour, but loose 



?8 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

and copious ; sometimes they are of a bright yellow ; 
sometimes white and frdthy ; sometimes they consist 
of mucus ; sometimes they are watery ; and at other 
times they consist of food and drink passed without 
being digested. But these appearances are matters 
of small consequence, as the mode of treatment is the 
same in all. 

Treatment. — Common cases are often cured by a 
few doses of Composition or No. 3 tea, to which has 
been added a tea-spoonful of No. 6 and a tea-spoon- 
ful of nerve-powder. I have cured some violent cases 
of this complaint, when even approaching to dysen- 
tery, by a free use of the conserve of hollyhock. 
But in all severe cases, a few courses should be ad- 
ministered ; when the " Mothers' Cordial," or No. 4 
or No. 5 may be used with a good effect. 

DROPSY, {Hydrops.) 

There are three different forms or kinds of this com- 
plaint, which are named according to the different 
parts of the body in which the water is lodged. 

When the water is collected in the cellular mem- 
brane, which is situated between the skin and flesh : 
it is called Anasarca, or dropsy of the cellular mem- 
brane. 

When collected in the chest or thorax, it is called 
hydrothorax, or dropsy of the chest. 

When it is collected in the cavity of the abdomen, 
it is called Ascites, or dropsy of the abdomen. 

Causes. — Dropsy is often induced by bad medical 
treatment of some other form of disease ; as jaundice, 
dysentery, intermittent fever, &c, where salivation 
and the frequent use of mercury has been resorted to. 
It is also caused by excessive evacuations, as copious 
bleedings, and strong purges; intemperance; affec- 
tions of the liver, spleen, pancreas, &c, and by 



sick man's friend. ?9 

whatever has a tendency to weaken the powers of the 
system. 

Symptoms. — Anasarca, or general dropsy, shows 
itself by the swelling of the feet and ankles, which, 
by degrees, ascend upwards, affecting the thighs, 
trunk of the body, and, finally, the face and head. 
The breathing also becomes difficult : the patient has 
a cough with expectoration of a watery fluid : urine 
small in quantity and high coloured, and deposits a 
reddish sediment : bowels generally costive : perspi- 
ration obstructed; the countenance yellow: great 
thirst, torpor, heaviness, and a slow fever. 

Ascites, or dropsy of the belly, is generally pro- 
duced by the same causes, and is attended by tense 
swelling of the abdomen. The water is usually col- 
lected within the peritonaeum or internal lining 
membrane of the abdomen ; consequently it is dif- 
fused amongst the intestines ; though sometimes it is 
found between the peritonaeum and the external walls 
of the abdomen. In this as well as the first-men- 
tioned form of the disease, there is dryness of the 
skin, oppression at the chest, cough, diminution of i 
the natural discharge of urine, and costiveness of the 
bowels. And soon a swelling is perceived at the 
lower part of the abdomen, which gradually extends 
itself and increases, until the whole body or abdomen 
becomes uniformly swelled and tense. 

As the water increases, the breathing becomes more 
difficult, the countenance pale and often bloated, the 
skin dry and parched : great thirst arises, and the 
urine is scanty, thick, high-coloured, and deposits a 
brick-coloured sediment. The pulse is also variable ; 
sometimes quicker and sometimes slower than natural. 
When to these symptoms are added, intense local 
pain ; great emaciation, with fever ; and the disorder 
having been induced by a diseased state of the liver, 



80 THE GOOD SAMARITAN? Oil, 

or other viscera of the abdomen, we may rest assured 
that the most persevering exertions will be necessary 
»n order to effect a cure. 

HtdrothoraX, or dropsy of the chest, is distin- 
guished by a sensation of water perceived by the pa- 
tient in the chest, on certain motions of the body ; or 
as if the heart were moving in, or surrounded by water. 

The causes which give rise to hydrothorax, are 
much the same as those which produce the other 
forms of dropsy. It is most common to males who 
have lived high and intemperate; and those who 
have long suffered from gout or asthma. 

It often comes on with a sense of uneasiness at the 
lower end of the sternum, (breast-bone,) and difficulty 
of breathing, which is increased by any exertion, and 
is always worse when the patient is in bed. As the 
disease advances, the difficulty of breathing increases, 
and at length becomes excessive. The patient is 
scarcely able to lie down, and the head and upper 
part of the body must be supported almost erect. The 
sleep is frequently interrupted by alarming dreams, 
out of which the patient starts up with a sense of 
suffocation, attended with violent palpitations of the 
heart. The face and extremities become cold ; the 
pulse is feeble and irregular ; and a pain or numb- 
ness frequently extends itself from the heart, towards 
one or both shoulders. Drowsiness, or delirium, fre- 
quently attend the latter period of hydrothorax, and 
occasionally a sensation of water floating about can 
be distinctly perceived by the patient, on any sudden 
change in the position of the body. The difficulty 
of breathing still increases, until the action of the 
lungs is entirely interrupted by the quantity of water 
in the chest— when death puts an end to the suffer- 
ings of the patient. 

In giving this lengthy description of this often fatal 



sick man's friend. 81 

disease, it is my intention to put the reader on his 
guard, that he may, if possible, avoid many of the 
predisposing causes of the complaint ; and, also, when 
the least symptom of the disease appears, that he may 
adopt the most energetic mode of treatment that the 
case may require. 

Treatment. — The first object to be aimed at, in the 
treatment of dropsy, is, to evacuate the water, and to 
restore or increase the vigour and tone of the system. 
To accomplish the first, full courses of medicine must 
be perseveringly administered ; and to effect the latter, 
the best stimulants and tonics must be exhibited ; and 
every means adopted which may have a tendency to 
promote a free and copious perspiration. 

Dr. Thomson - has treated many cases of this com- 
plaint ; (see his " Narrative" and " New Guide," — 
books which every householder ought to be in pos- 
session of;) and he tells that he has taken his patients 
through as many as three full courses in two days ; 
and his success in curing this formidable disease, far 
exceeds any former examples we have ever seen on 
record. We would recommend the same mode of 
treatment, for we have tried it in several cases of ana- 
sarca or general dropsy, with complete success. No 
other means equal to the vapour bath or steaming 
i can be used to remove the water, and when to this 
we add the whole course of medicine, accompanied 
with full doses of Nos. 2, 3, 4, and Nerve-Powder ; 
three or four times a day, between the regular courses, 
we have the double advantage of discharging the 
water from the cellular tissues, and of increasing the 
vigour and tone of the whole system. 

There are several articles which may be made into 

tea, and used as a common drink, while undergoing 

medical treatment for this complaint, such as the 

quaking-asp bark, (Thomson's poplar,) the pipsisway 

6 



82 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

and wild lettuce, or the compound called " Diuretic 
Tea," mentioned in another part of this volume. 

But Ascites, or dropsy of the belly, will often re- 
quire the operation of tapping, and even then the 
prospect of cure will not always be certain. Dr. 
Thomson tells us he never kiiew but two persons 
who were in this situation, to be perfectly cured. 
** One," says he, " was a girl, whom I attended ; 
I tapped her and took away seventeen pounds of 
water ; then swathed her up close, and gave medicine 
to keep up a perspiration : she did not fill again, and 
was completely cured. The other was a man ; he had 
been tapped twice. I carried him through a course 
of medicine several times, and gave the juniper ashes, 
with molasses and gin, which carried off large quan- 
tities of water, and he entirely recovered from the 
disorder." 

To perform the operation of tapping, an instrument 
termed a trocar is employed in a very simple manner. 
It is about four inches long, either round or flat ; on 
one end is a handle, and the other is made sharp. 
The part between the handle and edge is covered by 
a silver tube, which is in size just sufficient to admit 
the trocar into it. 

In order to perform the operation, the patient may 
either sit on a chair, or lie on the edge of a bed, when 
a long cloth or towel should be passed round the up- 
per part of the abdomen, and be securely fixed behind 
by an assistant; this presses the fluid downwards, 
and at the same time gives support to the diaphragm, 
(midriff,) preventing its sudden descent, which would 
otherwise be very apt to produce fainting. The ope- 
rator, seated in front, on a low chair, takes the trocar, 
previously oiled, in his right hand, and holding the 
handle firm in his palm, he places his forefinger on 
the tube, which not only prevents the trocar entering 



•83 

too far, but also serves as a guide to the instrument. 
The point of the trocar is then to be applied to the 
abdomen, about one inch and a half below the navel, 
in the linea alba, and steadily pushed through the 
skin and muscles of the abdomen, giving it a slight 
half kind of rotary motion, (turning first a little one 
way and then the other,) as it is pushed forward. Its 
entrance into the cavity of the abdomen is rendered 
evident by the cessation of resistance, which the opera- 
tor will be sensible of immediately on the point of the 
instrument entering the abdomen, when he must de- 
sist from further pushing it forward. 

The operator then, with the thumb and forefinger of 
the left-hand, gradually pushes forward the tube of the 
trocar, while with the same fingers of the right-hand 
he withdraws the trocar, leaving the tube for the wa- 
ter to flow through, which may be received in some 
proper vessel. As the water continues to flow, the 
towel or cloth which is around the abdomen, must be 
drawn proportionably tighter. Should the tube be- 
come stopped by lymph or the caul, it must be re- 
moved by a blunt probe, which must be small enough 
to pass through the tube. 

The water being evacuated, the tube is to be taken 
between the thumb and forefingers of the right-hand 
and slowly withdrawn ; while, with the fingers of the 
left, the edges of the wound are forced together. A 
pad of lint should be placed over the wound, and a 
broad bandage applied round the abdomen to give 
sufficient compression to the bowels, and which may 
also, in some measure, prevent a re-accumulation of 
the water. 

Every effort must now be made to increase and 
keep up the inward heat and vigour of the system. 
Full courses must not be omitted, accompanied with 
Composition, Spice Bitters, Nerve-Powder, " Diuretic 



84 THE GOOD SAMARITAN j OR, 

Tea/* &c., &c, until the tone of the organs are im- 
proved, and health is fully restored. 

EAR-ACHE, (Octalgia.) 

Causes. — Abscesses ; ulcers ; hardened wax, &c. 

Symptoms. — Severe pain ; fever, sometimes with 
delirium ; convulsions, &c. 

Treatment, — Apply the following compound, by 
means of cotton : — Oil of sassafras, ^ oz. ; olive oil, 
1 oz. ; camphor, 1 drachm, mix and apply warm. If 
the disease should be accompanied with delirium or 
convulsions, a full course of medicine must be imme- 
diately resorted to. 

ERUPTIONS, (of the Skin.) 

Causes.— In children, from bad milk ; from teeth- 
ing ; irritable state of the bowels, depending on teeth- 
ing ; disease, &c. 

Symptoms. — There are various kinds of eruptions, 
such as nettle rash — one resembling the measles, an- 
other resembling the itch ; large loose scabs on the 
forehead, &c. 

Treatment. — Give an emetic ; Composition, with 
Tincture of Lobelia in it, to drive out the eruption ; 
wash with a strong tea of No. 3, and, also, with the 
2d Preparation of No. 1, 

St. Anthony's fire, nettle-spring, or surfeit, are all 
caused by overheating the system and cooling too 
suddenly, which leaves the pores obstructed ; and, 
then, by taking more cold, they will break out with 
an itching and smarting, as if stung by an insect. 
If perspiration is produced by any cause, this erup- 
tion will disappear, until another cold is taken; 
when the patient will be as bad as ever. 

Dr. Thomson says, "The only way to effect a 
cure, is to give hot medicine and steam, till they 



85 

are brought to the same state of heat as that which 
first caused the disease ; and then cool by degrees." 
In short, raise the heat, throw out the canker, and 
tone the patient up. This can be soonest done by 
a full course, and the use of the bitters and nerve- 
powder. 

EYES, (Inflammation.) 

Treatment. — Use the eye-water as per direc 
tions. 

FLUX, (Dysentery.) 

Treatment, the same as diarrhoea, or looseness of 
the bowels. 

GIDDINESS. 

Causes. — Fulness of blood in the head ; bad state 
of the stomach, &c. 

Treatment. — Equalize the circulation by giving 
warm medicine, which will determine to the surface. 
Sometimes a full course will be necessary. Keep the 
feet warm. 

GRAVEL, (Lithiasis.) 

Causes. — Strong secretions forming in the kid- 
neys, &c. 

Symptoms. — Pain of the back and loins ; numb- 
ness of the thigh on the affected side ; nausea ; vo- 
miting ; stranguary, &c. 

Treatment. — If the case is bad, give regular 
courses ; drink a tea of aspen poplar, wild lettuce, 
pipsisway, or the "Diuretic Tea." In mild cases, 
this tea alone will give relief. 

GRIPES IN CHILDREN. 
Cause. — Offensive acrid matter in the bowels. 
Symptoms. — Pain, &c, of the intestines. 
Treatment. — Give a light emetic ; also a little No. 
6, with a tea of No. 3. Give injections also. 



86 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

GREEN SICKNESS, (Chlorosis.) 

Causes. — Want of power in the system to propel 
the blood into the uterine system ; suppressed men- 
ses, &c. 

Symptoms. — Hoarseness; palpitations; fatigue on 
the least motion ; pain in the back and loins, and 
hips; wind and acidity in the stomach; depraved 
appetite, &c. 

Treatment. — Full courses of medicine, with No. 5 
cordial, and Ladies' Bitters, three or four times a day, 
between the courses. Injections, per vagina, composed 
of a tea of unicorn root, red raspberry leaves, witch 
hazel leaves, and Nerve-Powder, with a teaspoonful 
of No. 6 in each teacupful, used two or three times a 
day, will be of great benefit also. Bathing the feet 
in warm water, and rubbing No. 6 on them, will also 
have a good effect. 

HEADACHE, (Sick.) 

Treatment. — Cleanse the stomach with No. 1 ; 
having previously given a dose or two of Composi- 
tion; bathe the feet in warm water, and stimulate 
them with No. 6, or Pepper Sauce. Take the bitteVs 
No. 4, or the Ladies' Bitters, to correct digestion, with 
No. 2 to warm the stomach. (See, also, the Anti- 
Dyspeptic Pills.) 

HYSTERICS. 

Causes. — Nervous irritability; excessive grief; 
conceit, &c. 

Symptoms. — Attacks in paroxysms of yawning ; 
stretching; depression of spirits; tears; flushings; 
sickness at the stomach ; palpitation ; pain in the 
left side ; symptoms of suffocation ; crying ; laugh- 
ing ; fainting ; insensibility ; wild and irregular ac- 
tions, &c. 

Treatment. — I have cured several violent cases of 



sick man's friend. 87 

this complaint with the 3d Preparation alone, given 
in tablespoonful doses. Bat regular courses, with 
the Nerve-Powder, No. 5 Syrup, and the Ladies' Bit- 
ters, will generally eradicate the disease in a short time. 

HYDROPHOBIA. 

Causes. — Poison from the bite of some rabid ani- 
mal ; such as dogs, cats, foxes, rats, &c. 

Stmptoms. — The most unequivocal, is the difficul- 
ty of swallowing, and an abhorrence of all liquids, &c. 

Treatment. — Give full courses immediately, using 
the 3d Preparation to puke with ; use it also in the 
injections, and bind it on the bitten parts by means 
of cloths wet with it ; after having first syringed the 
wound well with the clear liquid of this preparation. 
Steaming, in this malady, is of the utmost import- 
ance ; and, indeed, the regular course of medicine 
should be repeated until you have good reason to be- 
lieve that the virus is driven entirely out of the system. 
This course of treatment, faithfully pursued, has never 
failed of effecting a radical cure. For proof of this 
assertion, I beg leave to refer the reader to the works 
of Dr. Thomson, (who first discovered this infallible 
remedy ;) to the reports of the United States Thom- 
sonian Conventions, and to the works of Dr. Howard. 

Dr. Thomson says, " This preparation is for the 
most violent attacks of disease ; such as lock-jaw, 
bite of a mad dog, drowned persons, fits, spasms, and 
all cases of suspended animation. It will go through 
the system like electricity ; giving heat and life to 
every part. * * * * I have- cured three dogs with 
this preparation, that were under the most violent 
symptoms of hydrophobia. One of my agents cured 
a man who had been bitten by a mad dog, and I have 
not the least doubt of its being a specific for that dis- 



88 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

In the proceedings of the U. S. Thomsonian Con- 
vention, held at Columbus, (Ohio,) December, 1832, 
we find the following: 

" Resolved, 8. That our confidence in the Thom- 
sonian practice has been confirmed by testimonials 
from respectable sources, in almost every state in the 
American Union." 

" Resolved, 9. That in the Thomsonian course of 
medicine, Lobelia Inflata appears to be a specific, 
in cases of hydrophobia ; that it has been repeatedly 
used by Thomsonians, in cases of confirmed madness, 
and has never been known to fail even in extreme 
cases." See Thomsonian Recorder, vol. 1, p. 189 ; 
also, vol. 3d, pp. 81. 228. 235. 238. 

Dr. Howard says, that, " if the Lobelia had been 
so often tested by fashionable physicians, in the cure 
of hydrophobia, as it has been by the people [of these 
United States,] its fame would have been spread from 
sea to sea, and its echoes would have penetrated the 
deepest recesses of every civilized land. But the 
origin of this remedy is too humble ; its adoption 
would eclipse the already waning glory of scientific 
and professional fame. It must, therefore, be de- 
spised and rejected ; yes, the most valuable gift 
of Nature's God is neglected, because the honour 
of a vaunting, vainglorious profession may be tar- 
nished by the acknowledgment of its virtues." 
See "Improved System of Botanic Medicine," vol. 
2d, p. 21. 

HOOPING-COUGH. 

Cause. — Specific contagion. 

Symptoms. — Repeated fits of coughing, with a 
peculiar sound called whoop ; oppression in breath- 
ing ; hoarseness, &c. 

Treatment — the same as common cold, giving a 



89 

little Tincture of Lobelia, or Cough Syrup occasion- 
ally, as the case may require. 

INDIGESTION. 

Causes. — Various habits of body ; sedentary lives ; 
chronic weakness ; every thing, in fact, which weak- 
ens the system in general, and the stomach in par- 
ticular. 

Symptoms. — Want of appetite ; distention of the 
stomach; flatulent eructations ; general debility ; aver- 
sion to motion ; dejection of spirits; acrid eructations; 
heart-burn ; costiveness or diarrhoea, &c. 

Treatment. — Give full courses, accompanied with 
plenty of the Canker Tea and No. 2, to warm the 
stomach. Bitters, No. 2, Composition, and Nerve- 
Powder, must be given freely. Steaming and the 
cold shower-bath must also be given between the 
courses, if the case is bad. If the bowels are much 
deranged, injections must be used two or three times a 
day. In this, and several other forms of chronic disease, 
I have found it of great use to give the 3d Preparation 
in small doses, mixed in some of the other medicines. 
By pursuing the above treatment faithfully, relief will 
always be obtained, and a cure effected, where there 
is any constitution left to build upon. 

ITCH, {Psora.') 

Treatment — the same as eruptions. 

JAUNDICE, {Icterus.) 

Causes. — Obstructions of the bile, from various 
causes — such as calculi in the gall-bladder or its 
ducts ; spasmodic constriction of the ducts them- 
selves ; scirrhosity of the liver ; strong purges, &c. 

Symptoms. — Yellowness of the skin and eyes ; 
bitter taste in the mouth ; inactivity ; loss of appetite ; 
pain in the right side, &c. 



90 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

Treatment. — If the case be bad, or of long stand- 
ing, give regular courses, and tone up the system as 
in any other case of disease. Mild cases may be cured 
by bathing the feet in warm water, at night, and 
drinking freely of Composition tea, with a dose of 
Nerve-Powder and No. 6 in each drink of the tea. 

LUMBAGO, (Sciatica.) 

A rheumatic affection of the chronic kind, affecting 
the loins, hip joints, &c. 

Treatment. — Rub the parts affected with No. 6 or 
Pepper Sauce, using injections daily ; and drink a tea 
of poplar bark and pipsisway, taking a full course of 
medicine every two or three days, until cured. 

LOCKED-JAW. 

Causes. — Wounds in the flesh,tendons,sinews,&c. 

Symptoms. — Stiffness in the back part of the neck ; 
uneasy sensation of the root of the tongue ; pain at 
the pit of the stomach, shooting through the back ; 
stiffness in the jaws, which increases until it is im- 
possible to open the mouth. 

Treatment. — Inject the wounded parts with the 3d 
Preparation, binding the same on by means of cotton 
or soft cotton cloths. If the jaws are entirely set, and 
the teeth closed, endeavour to hold the cheek at the 
corner of the mouth loose from the teeth, and then 
pour this medicine from a spoon between the teeth 
and the cheek, and it will immediately find its way 
to the throat, and afford relief by loosening the jaws. 
This method of relieving the locked-jaw was first 
published to the world by Dr. Thomson, and is far 
better than knocking out the teeth, as is done by the 
mineral doctors. When this is effected, carry your 
patient through a full course of the medicine, which, 
indeed, ought to be done as soon as the first symp- 
toms make their appearance. 



sick man's friend. 91 

MEASLES, (Morbilli, or Rubeoli.) 

Cause. — Specific contagion. 

Symptoms. — Fever ; cold chills ; short cough ; 
loss of appetite ; drowsiness ; inflammation of the 
eyes ; dimness of sight, and sometimes blindness ; 
stools greenish ; bleeding at the nose ; small spots re- 
sembling flea-bites, &c. 

Treatment — the same as chicken, or small-pox. 
If the difficulty of breathing is great, the Tincture of 
Lobelia or the 3d Preparation should be given in 
small doses, two or three times a day. 

MILK-FEVER. 

Causes. — Delaying putting the child to breast, 
cold, &c. 

Symptoms. — Breasts turgid, painful ; fever, accom- 
panied with nausea, &c. 

Treatment. — When this form of disease occurs, 
carry the patient through a course of medicine; 
giving the Composition, Ladies' Bitters, No. 5 and 6, 
or the Mother's Cordial, four or five times a day, 
with steaming bricks, or a jug of hot water to the 
feet, in order to keep a gentle moisture on the skin ; 
and use injections freely, to prevent costiveness. 

PILES, (Hcemorrhosis.) 

Causes. — Habitual costiveness ; hard riding ; ex- 
cesses of various kinds ; strong purges ; suppressed 
evacuations ; pressure, &c. 

Symptoms. — Small tumors on the verge of the 
anus ; pungent pain, especially on going to stool ; 
pain in the back and loins ; vertigo ; headache ; dis- 
charge of blood, &c. 

A discharge of blood from the hemorrhoidal ves- 
sels is called the bleeding piles. When the vessels 
only swell, and discharge no blood, but are exceed- 
ingly painful, the disease is called the blind piles. 



92 the good Samaritan; or, 

Treafment. — Give regular courses; using injec- 
tions of No. 3, with a little cayenne added at first, 
and wash frequently with the same ; applying sweet 
oil occasionally, also, and as the soreness of the parts 
abates, make the injections stronger, until they can 
be borne made in the usual manner. 

PALSY, (Paralysis.) 

Causes. — Any thing that prevents regular exertion 
of the nervous power upon any particular muscle or 
part of the body, such as drunkenness ; wounds of the 
brain, or spinal marrow ; pressure on the brain or 
nerves ; very cold or damp air ; sudden fear ; want 
of exercise ; the poisonous fumes of metals or mine- 
rals, as lead, mercury, arsenic, &c. 

Symptoms. — A loss or diminution of sense or mo- 
tion, or of both, in one or more parts of the body. 

Treatment. — The most energetic treatment should 
be at once adopted in this form of disease ; such as 
full courses, and rubbing the affected parts with the 
strongest stimulating liniments, accompanied with 
frictions of a warm hand or flesh brush. 

If the tongue, throat, or head is affected, the patient 
should gargle his mouth frequently with No. 2 tea, 
or No. 6, and use the cephalic snuff, for the purpose 
of making him sneeze. The diet must also be warm 
and invigorating, seasoned with spicy and aromatic 
vegetables; and the Pepper Sauce should be used 
freely. 

The courses of medicine should be repeated, and 
the above practice persevered in, until an entire cure 
is effected, which will soon be the case, except in old 
age, where great debility prevails. 

RHEUMATISM, (Chronic.) 
Treatment — Whether this disease be chronic or 
inflammatory, the same treatment that is recommend- 



sick man's friend. 93 

ed for lumbago will answer the purpose : making a 
free use of the vapour bath between the regular 
courses. See all No. 6 and directions for Using it. 

RICKETS. 

Causes. — Scrofula ; diseased parents ; any thing 
that weakens the constitution or relaxes the habit of 
children. 

Symptoms. — Weakness; a cadaverous appear- 
ance; tumid belly, head, and joints. 

Treat merit. —Give full courses, or bathe the child's 
feet in warm water, and, after wiping dry, rub them 
with No. 6 and Nerve Tincture, mixed ; give an 
emetic to cleanse the stomach, and injections, daily, 
composed of No. 3 Tea, Nerve-Powder, and No. 6 ; 
give the Infant Drops, or No. 5 Syrup, with a little 
Nerve Tincture in each dose. 

ST. ANTHONY'S FIRE. 

Causes. — All the causes which excite inflamma- 
tion ; the use of fermented liquors ; suppressed evacu- 
ations; acrid bile, &c. 

Symptoms. — Effervescence of a florid colour, pre- 
ceded by cold shiverings, febrile symptoms, &c. 

Treatment. — After using the Composition, or No. 
3 Tea, with a small portion of No. 2 in it, for a day or 
two, and washing the part with a tea of No. 3 and 
Lobelia several times a day also ; then give a full 
course of medicine, not forgetting the bitters and 
Nerve-Powder, to correct the bile and strengthen the 
nervous system. 

ST. VITUS'S DANCE, (Chorea Sancli Vili) 

Cause. — Cold and obstructions; suppressed eva- 
cuations, &c. 

Symptoms. — Slight lameness of one leg; arms 



94 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

next affected and thrown into various contortions; 
spasmodic contraction of the joints, attended with 
severe pains, &c. 

The disease termed Chorea, or St. Vitus' s Dance, 
generally attacks young people from the eighth year 
of their age till the time of puberty ; though it has 
sometimes been found to occur at a more advanced 
period of life. Females are more liable to it than 
males. 

Treatment. — A full course or two, to clear the 
system of obstructions; then injections daily with 
Nerve-Powder or Nerve Tincture in them ; the limbs 
should be rubbed with Nerve Ointment, Nerve Tinc- 
ture, and No. 6 mixed and warm. No. 4 Bitters, La- 
dies' Bitters, and No. 5 and Nerve Tincture should be 
used freely, together with the most nourishing food. 

SCARLET FEVER, (Scarlatina.) 

Causes. — A reduction of vital heat. Sudden and 
violent changes of the weather ; contagious, injurious, 
gaseous vapours, &c. 

Symptoms. — 1st, Chilliness running through the 
system, from a loss or diminution of the usual degree 
of vital heat. 2d, Sickness at the stomach, and oc- 
casional vomiting, from a reflux or regurgitation of 
fluid upon the stomach and central regions. 3d, The 
dryness, and shrivelled, peculiar appearance of the 
skin, from the constricted or collapsed state of the 
pores thereof. 4th, The typhoid stupor, lassitude, 
languor, foetid ulcerations, livid discolourations of the 
eruptions, and cadaverous countenance, which de- 
monstrate the abounding impurities and the great 
degree of obstruction that prevails in the vascular 
system, tainting the springs of life at the fountain. 
5th, The tumefaction, soreness, and ulceration in the 
mouth, throat, tonsils, &a, or the numerous vesicles 



9$ 

filled with a sharp excoriating rheum. Pulse hard 
and quick. 

Physicians have divided this disease into three 
classes, or forms, and given to each a name, viz. : — 
Scarlatina Simplex, or the most simple and mild 
form of the disease. Scarlatina Anginosa, when at- 
tended with inflammation, swelling, and soreness of 
the throat, mouth, tonsils, &c. ; and Scarlatina Ma- 
ligna, when it puts on a more malignant and terrify- 
ing form. But these are all a mere circumstantial or 
symptomatic variety in the appearance of one and the 
same malady, requiring nothing more of the practi- 
tioner, than that he should treat the disease upon 
general principles. 

Treatment, — Give stimulating drinks in small 
doses, and in quick succession, composed of No. 2 
and 3, or the Composition Powder, to which should 
be added a portion of Nervine and No. 6, when cool 
enough to drink. Then place your patient in the 
vapour bath, raising the temperature according to his 
strength, in which he may continue for ten, fifteen, or 
twenty minutes, or until a free perspiration ensues : 
after which place him in a warm bed between 
blankets, and cleanse the stomach effectually with 
No. 1. Cleanse the bowels with the same by injec- 
tion. Combine both these with the diffusible stimu- 
lants, particularly Nos. 2 and 3, as above mentioned, 
to remove cankerous impurities, and you have gained 
three points, viz. : 1st, You have produced a deter- 
mination to the surface, where the pores being opened, 
the cankerous affection is thrown out in the form of 
an efflorescence on the skin. 2d, You have dis- 
charged from the stomach and bowels the accumulated 
load of morbific matter with which they were op- 
pressed, and produced reaction and heat in the chest, 
particularly in the stomach, the great centre of sym- 



96 the good Samaritan; or, 

pathetic communication with" the whole system. 3d, 
You have disturbed and loosened the cankerous 
slough, cleansed the vesicular ulcerations of their 
foulness, removed obstructions, produced a more 
healthy secretion generally, by exciting and sustain- 
ing a more healthy action. 

The appetite and digestion must now be attended 
to. The latter must be strengthened by a judicious 
exhibition of the Bitter Tonics, or perfect No. 4, and 
the former supplied with wholesome nutriment. If 
the digestion receives the necessary aid, until nature 
can have time to resume some of her wonted energy, 
you will find your patient in a safe and promising 
condition. If the tonsils, and other glandular parts 
of the throat be inflamed and swollen, leaves of the 
common mullen, (when they can be had,) scalded in 
sharp vinegar, and applied to the throat, produce a 
very happy effect. I am in the habit of bathing the 
throat with No. 6, combined (sometimes) with sweet 
oil and camphor. It will be found useful, also, to 
wash and gargle the mouth and throat with a tea of 
No. 2 and bayberry. 

By strictly adhering to the above practice, I have 
never lost a patient in scarlet fever, although I have 
attended hundreds, since I became a Thomsonian, 
which is now upwards of twenty-one years. 

SCALDS AND BURNS. 
Treatment. — Wrap the part in several thicknesses 
of cloths wet with cold water only ; which must be 
kept wet, to prevent the return of the smarting. 
Warm medicine must be given, to produce a deter- 
mination to the surface. If the scald, or burn, be 
severe, a regular course must be administered ; and, 
ifter the pain has subsided, apply a poultice of pul- 
verized slippery elm bark, wet in a tea of No. 3 : 



97 

washing the parts with this tea every time the poul- 
tice is renewed. 

SCALD-HEAD. 

Causes. — Contagion ; uncleanliness, <fcc. 

Symptoms. — Eruptions, of an acrimonious nature, 
spreading over the head, neck, &c. 

Treatment. — Take the patient through several 
courses, as the case may require ; at the same time 
the head should be well oiled and covered with wilted 
cabbage leaves, or a bladder, so as to keep out the cold 
air, and make it sweat as much as possible. On the 
next day, wash the head in warm soap suds ; and, 
when cl«an, wash with a strong tea of No. 1 and 3, 
sometimes anointing it with Nerve Ointment and 
No. 6, and washing it alternately with soap suds ; 
then No. 1 and 3, &c, until a cure is effected : not 
forgetting to guard the stomach, by giving the Bitter 
Tonics, Composition, Infant Drops, &c. 

SORE BREASTS. 
Treatment. — When an inflammation happens in 
the breasts of women, attended with hardness, red- 
ness, or other symptoms of suppuration, bathe with 
No. 6, or Pepper Sauce ; giving warm medicine at the 
same time, to keep up the inward heat. If this should 
not remove the swelling, and it is thought best to 
bring it to a head, apply a poultice of lily root made 
thick with fine ginger and slippery elm. If the pa- 
tient should be sick, as is often the case with swelled 
breasts, carry her through a full course of medicine, 
which will remove the complaint in a~short time. 

SORE THROAT, (Quinsy.) 
Causes. — Exposure to cold air, damp linen, &c. 
Treatment. — If the throat be swelled on one or 
both sides, bathe with No. 6, and apply poultices as 
7 



98 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

warm as can be borne, composed of comprey, Indian 
turnip, ginger, and slippery elm, boiled in sweet milk. 
This poultice should be renewed every few minutes, 
or as often as they grow a little cool : the patient at 
the same time sipping small doses of cayenne tea, and 
keeping himself as warm as possible. I never knew 
this course to fail in backening a recent attack of 
quinsey in a few hours. But, in cases of longer 
standing, a full course or two of medicine will be 
necessary. 

SPRAINS. 

Treatment — Rub with No. 6, and steam the parts 
repeatedly, and take some warm medicine to produce 
perspiration. • 

STINGS OF INSECTS. 
Treatment, — Apply the Tincture of Lobelia, No. 6, 
or the 3d Preparation. 

TETTERS. 

Treatment. — When on the hands, wash and soak 
them well in warm buttermilk, as hot as the patient 
can bear ; afterwards, rub them with Nerve Ointment 
and No. 6 ; and then, while oily, draw on a pair of 
old gloves, and wear them through the night. In the 
morning, wash with Castile soap, and, when dry, rub 
No. 6 on, and shield them from the air and cold water, 
as much as possible. On the next evening, proceed! 
as above, washing in the buttermilk, &c, until a cure 
is effected. Sweet oil will answer as a substitute for 
the Nerve Ointment in this and many other cases. 

THRUSH OF INFANTS. 

Causes. — Various derangements of the alimentary 
canal % bad milk ; low diet ; cold and moisture, &c. 
Symptoms. — This complaint generally appears 



99 

about the angles of the Hps, and then on the tongue 
and cheeks, in form of white specks, &c. 

Treatment. — Give red raspberry leaf and witch 
hazel leaf tea to drink, and wash the mouth repeat- 
edly with the same. Use injection of the same also, 
or No. 3, adding a little No. 6. The Infant Drops, 
and No. 5, should also be given, to correct the de- 
rangement of the stomach and bowels. 

TOOTHACHE, {Odontalgia.) 
The clear liquid of the 3d Preparation is the best 
toothache drops known ; No. 6 is also good, with 
which bathe the gums and face, and, if the tooth is 
hollow, put some of either of the above medicines in 
it, by means of a pen, or cotton wet with them. In 
bad cases of this complaint, it would be best to have 
the tooth extracted ; or take a lively sweat, and an 
emetic, which will always give immediate relief. I 
have obtained immediate relief from a distressing 
toothache, by chewing the inside bark of the common 
elder, and by letting it lie along the tumefied gums. 

UTERINE EVACUATIONS, (Catamenia.) 
An immoderate flow of the menses is usually ac- 
companied with pain in the back, loins, and abdomen, 
somewhat like those of childbirth ; and the patient 
becomes weak, the colour pale, the appetite and di- 
gestion are bad ; to which cedematous swellings of 
the feet, dropsies, and consumptions, often ensue. It 
sometimes proceeds from a sedentary life ; intemper- 
ance in eating and drinking; acrid food ; excessive 
fatigue ; great relaxation of the system, produced by 
strong purges ; a dissolved state of the blood ; violent 
passions of the mind, &c. 

Treatment. — Full courses of medicine, accompa- 
nied with astringent teas and cordials, such as No. 5, 
the Mother's Cordial, No. 4 Syrup, &c. A strong 



100 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

tea of the white plantain, with a little No. 2 in it, 
sweetened and drank in half teacupful doses, until 
three or four doses have been taken, in the course of 
six or eight hours, has produced the most happy 
effect. In this, and every other form of disease, 
where great debility prevails, let it be your chief aim 
to strengthen and tone up the system, with the re- 
storing and life invigorating medicines recommended 
in this work ; and complete success will soon crown 
your endeavours. 

I would here remark, that during the treatment of 
suppressed catamenia, (see Green Sickness,) a strong 
tea of rock ferren should be drank, three or four times 
a day, for a few days previous to the time of the 
regular monthly discharge. This tea has a good 
effect in promoting a regular discharge of the menses. 

WARTS. 

The 3d Preparation of Lobelia, applied by means 
of cotton, which should be wet with the liquid seve- 
ral times a day, will, in a short time, cause them to 
disappear* 

WHITLOW, 
Is an inflammatory tumour on the end of the finger, 
of the same nature as an abscess on any other part 
of the body. It may be cured by first applying the 
poultice, till the tumour or sore is well cleansed ; then 
apply the salve until healed. 

WHITES, (Fluor Albus.) 
In the mild form of this complaint, it consists of a 
thin, whitish, serous, slimy discharge from the uterus 
and vagina. Women who have borne children are 
most subject to it ; but sometimes the chastest virgins 
have felt its ravages. In its more aggravated form, 
the discharges are yellow, or dark-coloured ; green, 



101 

or blackish ; corrosive, and often very offensive. Ge- 
neral debility, irritable state of the nerves, palpitations, 
hysteric affections, pale countenances, dyspepsia, cos- 
tive habit, low spirits, &c., are its attendant symptoms. 
Treatment. — A full course of medicine, followed 
by Dr. Logan's long Thomsonian course ; using the 
mixture called Women's Friend, two or three times 
a day. Daily ablutions with water, and washing the 
parts with fine soap and water, will be very useful. 
Syringing the parts with tea of raspberry leaves, 
witch hazel leaves, unicorn root, or crowfoot root, and 
Nerve-Powder, will greatly facilitate the cure. Injec- 
tions to the bowels should be used daily, whether 
costive or not. A strengthening plaster should also 
be worn across the loins. 

WORMS, {Vermes.) 
Treatment. — Where worms are troublesome, we 
may rest assured that the stomach and bowels of the 
patient are in a bad condition. To remedy this evil, 
emetics and injections should be used, without delay. 
The warm medicine and bitters should be used freely, 
particularly the conserve of hollyhock, or, as it is some- 
times called, the " bread of life." Purges and worm- 
destroying medicines (poisons) should be avoided, 
and a thorough course of Thomsonian treatment pur- 
sued, which will soon restore the patient's health, and 
then the worms will cease to be troublesome. 

I have now given the reader a correct course of 
treatment, according to Thomsonian principles, for 
upwards of sixty different forms of disease ; and, I 
can add, that, from actual experience, during many 
years' constant employment as a physician, I have 
never known the foregoing practice to fail of effecting 
a cure ; or, at least, of greatly relieving the patient, 
except in the most hopeless cases, where the powers 



102 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

of life were reduced below the reach or influence of 
medicine. And, if any of my readers should recollect, 
or call to mind, a form of disease, v/hich I have neg- 
lected to enumerate, and they should find themselves 
at a loss to know how to treat the complaint, I would 
only say to them, in the words of the venerable Dr. 
Thomson : 

"Let names of all disorders be 
Like to the limbs joined on a tree ; 
Work on the root, and that subdue, 
Then all the limbs will bow to you. 
So as the body is the tree, 
The limbs are cholic, pleurisy, 
Worms and gravel, gout and stone, 
Remove the cause, and they are gone." 



CHAPTER VI. 

The Materia Medica and ThomsoniarCs Pharma- 
copoeia, 

In this chapter we will present the reader with the 
Thomsonian Materia Medica ; — the preparation of the 
Six Numbers, (so repeatedly mentioned in the fore- 
going chapter,) together with many other valuable 
recipes, some of which have never before appeared in 
print. At the close of the chapter the reader will 
also find a full, or regular, course of medicine 
described, which will answer the practitioner's pur- 
poses, in all fresh or sudden attacks of disease ; but 
which may require some variation in cases of long 
standing, and where the strength of the patient is 
greatly exhausted. In such cases, practical know- 
ledge will be of the greatest importance ; and, where 
the advice of experienced practitioners can be obtained, 
it should never be dispensed with or neglected. 



103 

In the Materia Medica, the botanic, as well as the 
common English, or vulgar names of the plants being 
given, will enable the reader to find a description of 
such of them as he may be unacquainted with, in the 
works of Drs. Thomson, Howard, Curtis, Bartow, 
Rafinesq.ue, and other botanists. But, as a few of the 
best articles will always answer the purpose better than 
a confused multitude, (see Dr. Thomson's " Stock 
of Medicine," " New Guide," p. 88,) I would advise 
the reader to select and keep on hand only such arti- 
cles of medicine as will be necessary to prepare a 
sufficient supply of the Six Numbers : the Nerve- 
Powder, Composition, Cough Drops, Infant Drops, 
Nerve Ointment, Salve, Strengthening Plaster, Poul- 
tice, and (unless he is a sworn enemy to mild loosening 
medicine) the "Genuine Vegetable Anti-Dyspeptic 
Pills." These will be amply sufficient ; yet I have 
given some other valuable preparations, which I have 
found very serviceable where patients have become 
tired with the long and continued exhibition of some 
of the above-mentioned medicines. 

THE MATERIA MEDICA 

Of Dr. Samuel Thomson's Guide and Narrative, 
being a correct catalogue of all the Plants recom- 
mended by him, in his practice of medicine. Pre- 
pared for publication in the Thomsonian Recorder, 
by Dr. A. C. Logan, of Somerville Farm, Phila- 
delphia county, Pa. 

1. Lobelia Injlata, vel Thomsonia ; Emetic Plant, 

Puke or Asthma Weed, Indian or Wild To- 
bacco, Eye-bright. 

2. Capsicum Annuum ; Cayenne Pepper. 

3. Myrica Cerifera ; Bayberry, Myrtle, Candle or 

Wax Berry. 

4. Nymphia Odorata ; Sweet Water Lily, White 



104 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

Pond, or Toad, or Cow Lily — Cow or Water 
Cabbage. 

5. Abie§, vel Pinus Canadensis ; Hemlock Spruce. 

6. Statice Caroliniana ; Marsh Rosemary, Ameri- 

can or Sea-side Thrift, Sea Lavender, Ink Root. 

7. Rhus Glabrum ; Smooth Sumach. 

8. Hamamelis Virginica ; Winter Witch-Hazel, 

Snapping Hazel, Winter Bloom. 

9. Rubus Strigosus ; Wild Red Raspberry. 

10. Populas Tripida, vel Tremuloides ; Aspen or 

Poplar. 

11. Erigeron Purpureum ; Cocash or Squaw Weed, 

Skevish or Scabish. 

12. Chelune Glabra; Balmony, Snake or Turtle 

Head, or Bloom Shell Flower. 

13. Berberis Vulgaris; Barberry. 

14. Amygdalus Persica ; Peach Tree, kernels used. 

15. ApocynumAndrosemifolium; Bitter Root, Wan- 

dering Milk Weed, Honey Bloom, Catch-Fly 
or Trap, Ipecac. 

16. Frasera Verticillata ; Ohio Kercuma, Golden 

Seal, Meadow Pride, Columbo Root, Pyramid, 
Indian Lettuce, Yellow Gentian. 

17. Hydrastis Canadensis ; Yellow Root, Ground 

Raspberry, Eye Balm, Puccoon, Orange or 
Turmeric Root. 

18. Prunus Virginiana; Wild Cherry Tree, ker- 

nels used. 

19. Cypripedeum Pubescens, vel Parviflorum vel 

Luteum et Humile vel Acaule ; Umbil or 
Nervine, Noah's Ark, Moccasin Flower, Lady 
Slipper, Bleeding Heart, or American Valerian, 
and Indian Shoe. 

20. Amyris Kataf, vel Myrrha ; Myrrh. 

21. Zingiber Amonum ; Ginger. 

22. Piper Nigrum ; Black Pepper. 



105 

23. Laurus C amphora ; Gum Camphor. 

24. Oleum Terebinthinse ; Spirits of Turpentine. 

25. Mentha Piperita,- Peppermint. 

26. Mentha Veridis ; Spear or Water Mint. 

27. Saturcise Hortensis, vel Satureja Hortensis ,* 

Summer Savory. 

28. Hedeoma Pulegiordes; Pennyroyal, Squaw Mint, 

Stinking Balm, Tickweed. 
Marrubium Vulgar e ; Hoarhound. 
Inula Helenium ; Elecampane. 
Anthemis Cotula ; Mayweed, Wild Camomile, 

Dillweed or Dilly, Dog's Fennel. 

32. Artemisia Absinthium ; Wormwood. 

33. Tanacetum Vulgar -e ; Tansy. 

34. Anthemis Nobilis,- Camomile. 

35. Verbascum Thapsus ; Mullen. 

36. Arctium Lappa; Burdock. 

37. Matricaria Vulgaris, vel Chrysanthemum Par- 

thenicum ; Feaverfew or Featherfew. 

38. Betula Lenta; Black Birch. 

39. Celastrus Scandens ; Bittersweet, Fever-twig, or 

Staff Vine. 

40. let odes Foetida, vel Spathyema Foetida ; Skunk 

Cabbage or Weed, Collard, Itchweed, Skoka. 

41. Arum Triphyllum ,• Indian Turnip, Wake 

Robin, Dragon Root or Turnip, Pepper 
Turnip. 

42. Eupatorium Perfoliatum ,• Boneset, Thorough- 

wort or Stem, Indian Sage, Sweating Plant, 
Ague Weed or Crosswort, Feverwort, Vegeta- 
ble Antimony, Jocpye. 

43. Deum Virginianum ; Evan Root or White 

Avens, Chocolate or Throat Root, Bennet, or 
Cure- All. 

44. Dalium Verum et Aparine ; Cleavers or Clivers, 

Goose Grass, Yellow Bedstraw, Cleavewort, 



106 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

Savoyan, Milk Sweet, Poor Robin, Clabber 
Grass, Gravel Grass, &c. 

45. Abies, vel Pinus Balsamea ; Balsam Fir. 

46. Ulmus Fulva ; Red Slippery or Sweet Elm. 

47. Aristolochia Serpentaria ,• Virginia Snake Root, 

Birth wort, Snagrel. 

48. Sinapis Alba, et Nigra ,- Mustard. 

49. Cochlearia Armoracia ; Horse Radish. 

50. Juglans Cinerea ; Butternut. 

/Gl. Verbena Hastata; Blue Vervain or Purvain. 

52. Verbena Urticifolia ; White or Nettleleafed Ver- 

vain. 

53. Solidago Odora ,• Sweet Golden Rod. 

54. Pyrola Umbillata ; Pipsissawa or Ground Leaf, 

Ground Holly, King's Cure, Rheumatism 
Weed. 

55. Tyrola Maculata; Pipsissawa or White Leaf, 

&c. &c. 

56. Cnicus Officinalis ; Bitter Thistle, cultivated in 

gardens, for medical use. 

57. Rumex Crispus * Yellow Dock. 

58. Carduus Benedictus, vel Centaur ea Benedicta ; 

Blessed or Lovely Thistle. 

59. Zanthoxylon Fraxineum ,• Prickly Ash, Tooth- 

ache Bush, Yellow Wood or Suterberry, or 
Pellitory. 

60. Tyrola Rotundifolia ; Wild Lettuce, Round 

Leaf Consumption Weed. 

61. Aletris Farinosa ; True Unicorn Root, Star 

Grass, Blazing Star, Aloe Root, Bitter Grass, 
Star Root, Devil's Bit. 

62. Helonias Dioica ,• False Unicorn Root, Colic 

Root, Devil's Bit, Drooping Starwort. 

63. Coptis Trifolia; Gold Thread, Yellow Root, 

Mouth Root. 

64. Lycopus Virginicus. — Var : Ruber; American 



107 

Archangel, Bugle Weed, Water Hoarhound, 
Paul's Betony, Gipsy Weed, or Red Archangel. 

65. Lycopus Vulgaris, vel Europaeus ; Green Arch- 

angel, Bugle Weed, &c. 

66. Populus Balsamifera ; Balsam Poplar — Indian 

name, Tackamahaka. 

67. Populus Candicans ; Balm of Gilead Poplar. 

68. Panax Quinquefolia ; Ginseng. 

69. Myrica Gale ; Meadow Fern, Sweet Gale, Bog 

or Dutch Myrtle. 

70. Trifolium Pratense ; Red Clover. 

From the above catalogue of plants, the following 
medicines are prepared, which possess most efficiently 
Dr. Thomson's three grand principles, namely : 
rough, hot, and bitter ; or, in other words, astringents, 
stimulants, and tonics. 

EMETICS, (or J\To. 1.) 

There are several valuable vegetable emetics; such 
as the " Vervain," " Thoroughstem," and the Lobelia 
Inflata, which may be finely powdered and taken in 
substance, in teaspoonful doses, or in strong decoction 
in half teacupful doses, till the stomach is emptied of 
its morbific contents. 

But the most unequivocal and efficient of these, 
and the one we have always alluded to in the treat- 
ment of disease, is the Lobelia Inflata, which is 
prepared for use in the following manner, viz. : 

1 . When the herb is in full bloom, gather as much 
of it as you wish to prepare into the Green Emetic. 
Let this be dried in the shade, where dampness or 
the night air will not be likely to injure it ; when 
perfectly dry, rub the leaves off the stems, and pack 
the leaves away in a close box ; some of them may be 
ground fine in a mortar, and sifted through a fine 
sieve, and kept for use. It is best not to grind too 



108 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

muchrof it at once, as it keeps better in the leaf than 
in the fine powder. A teaspoonful of this powder is 
generally given to an adult for a dose, and this dose 
repeated two, three, or four times, at intervals of 
twenty or thirty minutes, until the stomach is well 
cleansed. [See directions for giving an emetic] This 
is the 1st Preparation. 

2d. To make ihe Emetic Tincture, gather the 
herb as above, cut off the roots, and pound it as fine 
and as soft as you can, in a mortar ; fill a glass gallon 
jar with it, moderately pressed down ; then pour as 
much alcohol in the jar as will cover it, and' let it 
stand closely covered for a month or six weeks, then 
wring or press the tincture through a strong linen cloth, 
and bottle it for use. This is called the " 2d Prepa- 
ration" and is an important medicine in the cure of 
asthma. The dose is from a tea, to a tablespoonful, 
for an adult. 

3c? Preparation. In the month of September the 
Lobelia is generally ripe. It is then gathered, the 
roots cut off, and the herb spread on a sheet, to dry ; 
when dry, the seed is shaken out and made clean, by 
being passed, several times, through a fine sieve. The 
seed should then be put away in a bottle or glass jar, 
for use. The seed, pounded in a mortar until it will 
stick together, is what is called the " Brown Emetic." 
When I have used the Brown, instead of the Green 
Emetic, I generally gave about one-third less for a dose. 

To make the 3d Preparation, take half a pound of 
the ground seed, half a pound of cayenne, half a 
pound of Nerve-Powder, and one gallon of the best 
No. 6 ; mix, and shake all well together : the dose is 
from one to three teaspoonfuls. See Hydrophobia, 
Locked Jaw, Fits, &c. 

After the seeds are thus disposed of, the leaves and 
pods may be packed away, in -a box, for the First 



109 

Preparation, or Green Emetic ; yet it will not be so 
strong, or of so beautiful a green, as that prepared 
from the herb in full bloom. 

STIMULANTS, (or JV<?. 2.) 

The best African Cayenne (Capsicum Axnutjm) 
is No. 2. Red pepper, black pepper, ginger, penny- 
royal, peppermint, or any thing hot, is used as a sub- 
stitute, when the cayenne cannot be had. 

A dose of the cayenne, is from one fourth to a tea- 
spoonful, for an adult patient. 

In giving No. 2, during a course of medicine, or 
while steaming, it is always best to give it in broken 
doses ; that is, one-quarter or half a teaspoonful at a 
time, and repeat as the patient can bear it, except in 
such cases as will require large doses to arouse the 
system into action. In this way it may be used 
safely, in all cases of disease, to raise and retain the 
internal vital heat of the system, cause a free per- 
spiration, and to keep the determining powers to the 
surface. 

ASTRINGENTS, (or No. 3.) 

Bayberry, white pond lily, hemlock, smooth su- 
mach, witch hazel, and red raspberry, are the articles 
which compose Dr. Tho3ison's No. 3. Some prac- 
titioners use the bark of the root of bayberry, alone, 
for No. 3 ; but this medicine does not seem to answer 
as good a purpose alone, as when it is combined with 
other astringents. The preparation I have used as 
No. 3, for many years, is the following, viz. : 

3 lbs. of the bark of the root of bayberry, pulverized. 

£ lb. of white pond lily root, pulverized. 

£ lb. hemlock bark. 

£ lb. sumach berries, and 

^ lb. of witch hazel leaves, or red raspberry leaves, 
all pulverized, and well mixed together. 



110 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

A pint of boiling water, poured on a large table- 
spoonful of this powder, makes a good tea, with a 
little No. 2 added, which may be used instead of the 
Composition; and, while going through a course of 
medicine, a strong tea of this powder should be used 
freely, combined with No. 2 and the Nerve-Powder ; 
it will warm the system, scour the stomach and bow- 
els, and strengthen the nerves. The emetic should 
always be given in a tea of this powder, or the Com- 
position. Injections, and poultices, are generally 
made of this tea. See Injections, and A Course of 
Medicine. 

BITTER TONICS, {or JVo. 4.) 

The best Bitter Tonics are, the bark of the aspen 
poplar; that is, the quaking asp, balmony, barberry 
bark, golden seal, true unicorn root, and prickly ash. 
Any of these, reduced to a fine powder, may be taken 
in small teaspoonful doses, to assist the digestion or 
restore the appetite. But, in all cases where bitters 
are necessary, a combination of these articles are bet- 
ter than either of them separately. Hence Dr. Thom- 
son uses this formula, namely : — Balmony, barberry 
bark, and poplar bark, pulverized and equal parts 
mixed. On one ounce of this mixture, pour a pint 
of boiling water; and, when cold, strain off the de- 
coction, and add half a pint of spirits and one tea- 
spoonful of No. 2, for hot bitters. 

" This preparation," he says, " is calculated to cor- 
rect the bile and create an appetite, by restoring the 
digestive powers ; and may be freely used, both as a 
restorative and to prevent disease." 

For several years past, I have used no other No. 4 
thanjhe following preparation, called 



in 



SUPERIOR No. 4. 



2 lbs. aspen poplar, 
1 lb. tulip poplar, 
1 lb. balmony, 
i lb. bitter root,* 
i lb. barberry bark, 



i lb. golden seal, 
£ lb. prickly ash, 
J lb. anniseed, 
i lb. cinnamon bark, 
J lb. best cayenne, 



all finely pulverized, and well mixed together. Put 
half a pound of this mixture into two gallons of water, 
in a copper or brass kettle, and boil it down to one ; 
then strain off the decoction, and let it settle ; when it 
must be schired off the grounds, into the kettle again ; 
to which, add four pounds of good sugar, and scald it 
well and skim it ; then pour it out into a proper vessel, 
to cool ; and, when cold, add one quart of French 
brandy, and bottle it up for use. 

This preparation I have called superior No. 4, and 
is one of the best, for dyspepsia or indigestion. It 
gives tone and vigour to the digestive organs, expels 
wind from the stomach, relieves sick headache, and 
produces and maintains a healthy action throughout 
the system ; especially after a course of medicine. 

Dose, from a half to a wine-glass full, two or three 
times a day 

N. B. — The above mixture may also be used as 
follows : On a teaspoonful of the powder, pour 
a small teacupful of boiling water ; when cool 
enough to drink, strain it off, and drink it with or 
without sweetening, two or three times a day, just 
before eating. 

DEMULCENT RESTORATIVES, {or JVo. 5.) 
The preparation I here present the reader with, is 
a little different in form, though scarcely any in es- 
sence. See New Guide, p. 82. 

* See Dr. Thomson's description of this valuable vegeta- 
ble, New Guide, p. 61, 3d ed. 1831 ; after using it, perhaps, 
for forty years ! ! ! 



112 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ? OR, 



J lb. wild cherry tree 
bark of the root,* 



1 lb. bayberry bark, 

1 lb. poplar bark, 

§ lb. peach kernels, 
all pulverized and well mixed together. 

Boil one pound of the above mixture in two gallons 
of water down to one, and make a syrup, and add one 
quart of brandy, as directed for superior No. 4. 

Dose. — Take from a half to a wine-glass full, three 
times a day. 

This syrup is intended to strengthen the stomach 
and bowels, and to restore weak patients after a 
course of medicine. In a relax, or the first stages of 
dysentery, by using a tea of No. 3 freely, and giving 
the same by injections, and, also, giving this syrup to 
strengthen the digestive organs, it will generally cure 
it ; and will also prevent those exposed from taking 
the disease. 

THE INFANT DROPS, (or Mother's Cordial.) 
Is also a restorative, and might be called the 2d 
Preparation of No. 5. It is intended to supersede 
the use of opium, morphia, laudanum, paregoric, and 
all other stupefying doses ; such as are generally 
given by the mineral faculty to lying-in women, and 
restless children. It facilitates labour, and, assisted 
by hot stones to the feet, removes after-pains, and 
effectually prevents their re-occurrence. It is the 
very best preparation for diarrhoea in all its various 
forms, cramp colic, cholera morbus, and the summer 
diseases of children, that has yet been introduced into 

* In No. 5 Dr. Thomson omits the wild cherry bark, and 
boils the whole of the poplar and bayberry, in two gallons 
of water, for a short time ; strains off the decoction, and 
adds seven pounds of good sugar; then scalds and skims 
it; after which, he adds half a pound of peach meats, 
pounded fine, and sets it away to cool. When cold, he adds 
one gallon of good brandy, and bottles for use. Dose, the 
same as above. 



113 

the chamber of the distressed. I have seen children, 
that had been nearly drugged to death by the doctors, 
restored to perfect health by this preparation alone. 
It is prepared in the following manner, viz. : 
4 oz. of No. 5 Powders, I J oz. cinnamon bark, 



i oz. lemon peel, 
J oz. golden rod, 



1 oz. raspberry leaves, 

1 oz. witch hazel leaves, 

2 oz. American valerian, 
well pulverized, but not sifted. 

Boil all these ingredients in two gallons of water, 
down to one ; then strain, and add eight pounds of 
loaf sugar to the decoction ; scald and skim it, and, 
if you, have about one gallon and a quart of the syrup, 
(which is the proper quantity,) when cold, add one 
quart of the Tincture of Valerian, and bottle it for use. 

Directions. — To restless infants under one year, 
give from ten drops to a ieaspGonful, in a little warm 
water, two or three times a day. The dose may be 
increased to a tablespoonful, according to the age of 
the child ; and a little No. 6 may be added to each 
dose, in case of spasms, cholic, or summer complaint. 

Adults may take from a half to a wine-glass full, 
and, if the pains be severe, add one or two teaspoons- 
ful of No. 6 to the dose, and repeat every two or three 
hours, until relief be obtained. 

BLACKBERRY CORDIAL. 
To two quarts of juice, add one pound of loaf sugar, 
one half ounce nutmegs, one half ounce cinnamon, one 
half ounce alspice, and one quarter ounce cloves, all 
finely pulverized ; boil for a short time, and, when cold, 
add one pint of good brandy, and bottle for use. This is 
an excellent cordial for the summer complaint of child- 
ren, and for the dysentery, and will answer as a substi- 
tute for No. 5 or the Infant Drops, where they cannot 
be had. 

8 



114 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OK, _ 

Dose. — From a teaspoonful to a wine-glass full, 
according to age. 

RHEUMATIC DROPS, (or JVo. 6.) 
Dr. Thomson's preparation is : One pound of gum 
myrrh, pounded fine, and one ounce of No. 2, put 
into a gallon of fourth proof brandy ; let this stand 
five or six days, shaking it well eveiy day, and it will 
be fit for use. When it is settled, it may be bottled 
up for use. 

The, preparation, which I have used for about five 
years, is as follows : Three-fourths of a pound of the 
sweet-scented gum myrrh, two ounces of fine golden 
seal, one ounce of fine hemlock bark, and one ounce 
of No. 2, put into a gallon of alcohol, shaking it once 
a day, for five or six days ; when it may be let settle ; 
then pour it off the grounds and bottle for use. Either 
of these preparations will answer all the purposes for 
which Dr. Thomson has intended No. 6. The se- 
cond is the cheapest, and has been declared the best, 
by some good judges of No. 6, but who were igno- 
rant of the addition of the golden seal and hemlock. 

The No. 6 stands unrivalled in the cure of rheu- 
matism, whether chronic or inflammatory. Immedi- 
ate relief is often obtained by bathing the parts 
affected well, before the fire, with these drops ; and, 
at the same time, take a teaspoonful or two, in a little 
water, sweetened. It is, also, good ^br colic, in tea- 
spoonful doses, repeated every fifteen or twenty mi- 
nutes, until relief is obtained. It cures most cases 
of toothache, by bathing the gums and the outside of 
the face, and putting a little in the tooth, on lint. It 
is a powerful antiseptic, as it prevents mortification, 
allays inflammation, brings down swellings, eases 
pain, and produces a tendency to heal. " In fact," 
says Dr. Thomson, " there is hardly a complaint in 



115 

which this useful medicine cannot be used to advan- 
tage.'* It often cures the fever and ague, and is good 
for chills. 

By mixing the same quantity of Nerve Ointment, 
or sweet oil to these drops, you have an excellent 
liniment for bathing stiif or swelled joints, bruises, 
sprains, fresh wounds, or sores of any kind. And, 
by adding two ounces of Castile soap, scraped fine ; 
two ounces of gum camphor, and half a pint of the 
spirits of turpentine, to one gallon of good No, 6, you 
have an opodeldoc, embrocation, or liniment, superior 
to any other now before the public, for wounds, bruises, 
strains, swellings, stiff joints, or sores of any kind, on 
man or beast. So that I may add, in fact, it is worth 
more than all the mineral poisons in the United 
States, for eradicating disease from the human frame. 

NERVE-POWDER, (Cypripedium Luteum.) 

Common Names. -t- Yellow Lady's Slipper, Moc- 
casin Flower, American Valerian, JJmbil, $c. 

[See Dr. Thomson's description of this valuable 
plant, in his " New Guide," p. 65, and the " Materia 
Medica," No. 19.] 

It is the root of the plant that is used for medicine ; 
they should be dug in the fall, washed clean, and dried 
in the sun or an airy room. When quite dry, they 
should be pulverized and bottled for use. The dose 
is from a half to a teaspoonful, taken in any of the 
other medicines, or in hot water, sweetened ; and re- 
peated as often as the case may require. 

Dr. Thomson esteems the Lady's Slipper as one 
of the most valuable articles of vegetable medicine, 
and says, " It would be difficult to get along with my 
practice, in many cases, without this important ar- 
ticle." 

In its operation, it appears to act in harmony with 



116 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

the laws of animal life, giving strength and tone to 
the nervous system ; and, hence, it is useful in all 
cases of nervous irritation hysterical affections, 
spasms, and fits, and in all functional derangements 
of the brain ; such as madness, delirium, and despond- 
ency of mind ; and in all cases of inability to sleep, 
particularly in fevers and consumptions. 

COMPOSITION, (or Diaphoretic Poioder.) 

Dr. Thomson's composition is : Two pounds of 
fine bayberry bark, one pound of fine hemlock bark, 
one pound of good ginger, two ounces of ground 
cloves, and two ounces of No. 2, well mixed, and 
sifted through a fine sieve. 

This medicine is used for a sudden cold, foul sto- 
mach, headache, jaundice, pain in the limbs, cold 
hands and feet, pain in the stomach and bowels, sore 
throat, diarrhoea or dysentery, rheumatism, and all 
complaints caused by cold. It may be used by male 
or female, young or old. It produces perspiration, and 
a free and equal circulation throughout the system. 

Diiiections. — Put a teaspoonful into a teacup, 
and add sugar, to please the taste ; then pour it full 
of boiling water, stir it well, and drink it warm, two 
or three times a day, or oftener. When given to 
children, milk or cream may be added, to make it 
pleasant. 

In. dysentery or bowel complaints, while using this 
medicine, a teaspoonful of No. 6 may be added to 
each dose, and the same may be given by injections ; 
which will, if taken in time, effect a speedy cure. 

The learned Dr. Samuel Robinson says, that 
" this medicine is superior to any one in the Materia 
Medica of the regular faculty ; and for purifying the 
blood, and cleansing the whole internal man, it stands 
without a rival." 



sick man's friend. 117 

Dr. Thomson has thrown the hemlock out of the 
Composition, and what he has substituted in its place 
I know not ; but the following is the preparation I 
have sold, and used in my practice, for six or seven 
years past, viz. 



2 oz. fine cinnamon, 
2 oz. fine cloves, 



3 lbs. fine bay berry, 

1 lb. good ginger, 

2 oz. No. 2, 

all well mixed together, and passed through a fine 
sieve. 

I COUGH POWDER. 



1 oz. No. 2, 

2 oz. gum arabic, 



1 oz. brown emetic, 

1 oz. golden seal, 

1 oz. nerve-powder, 
well mixed and sifted. 

Dose. — Half a teaspoonful, on going to bed ; mix 
in a little syrup, honey, or molasses. 

The above may be made into pills, by adding as 
much soft water as will reduce the powder to the 
consistence of dough. 

Dose. — Two or three at night, and, if the cough is 
troublesome, or of long standing, these pills should be 
taken two or three times a day, so as to affect the 
stomach slightly. 

CONSERVE OF HOLLYHOCK, (or Bread of Life.) 
Take one pound of fresh hollyhock blossoms, (the 
calyx being first taken from the blossoms,) and pound 
them in a mortar, until they are reduced to a fine 
pulp ; then add, by degrees, four pounds of loaf sugar 
to this pulp, pounding both together, until they be- 
come as smooth as paste ; then as much of the Spice 
Bitters (or the Ladies' Bitters, as they are generally 
called) as will bring this paste to the consistence of 
stiff dough, kneading the powder in with the pestal, 
until it is well worked ; then add a tablespoonfui of 



118 



THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OK, 



the oil of pennyroyal, and pack it away, in a glazed 
jar, for use. 

This is an excellent medicine for all complaints 
caused by cold ; it may be eaten dry, or a teaspoonful 
may be mixed in a cup of warm water, and drank on 
going to bed, or two or three times a day, if required. 
Children troubled with worms should be encouraged 
to eat this medicine freely. I have known it to dis- 
charge them, in knots of ten or twelve large worms 
together. One or two of the Anti-Dyspeptic Pills 
might be given each day, while using the conserve 
for worms. (Xj^See treatment for worms in the pre- 
ceding chapter. 

SPICED BITTERS. 
(Xj 3 Published in the " Recorder" 

3 oz. unicorn root, 



3 oz. nerve-powder, 
1 oz. No. 2, 
25 oz. loaf sugar, 



4 oz. fine poplar, 

4 oz. golden seal, 

6 oz. bayberry, 

2 oz. prickly ash, 

2 oz. cloves, 

All these must be well mixed together and passed 
through a fine sieve. 

Dose. — A teaspoonful in a cup of warm water, or 
cider. 

LADIES' BITTERS. 
Prepared, sold, and used by myself, in practice. 



\ lb. fine bayberry, 
J lb. poplar, 
^ lb. unicorn root, 
^ lb. golden seal, 
1 lb. white ginger, 
1 lb. Nerve-Powder, 
^ lb. prickly ash, 
mixed and used as the Spiced Bitters, 



J lb. bitter root, 
^ lb. gum myrrh, 
^ lb. cloves, 
5 lb. cinnamon, 
i lb. No. 2, 
12 lb. loaf sugar 



FRIEND. 119 

Either or both of the above preparations may be 
used, by male or female, in all cases where strength- 
ening medicines are necessary. The Spice Bitters 
are excellent for dyspeptic patients, who should use 
them freely, while undergoing medical treatment 
See Dyspepsia. 

The Ladies' Bitters might, with propriety, be called 
Women's Friend ; as they are the best preparation 
of medicine we have ever seen exhibited, in cases of 
female iveaknesses. 

CHOLERA SYRUP. 

On one pound of coarse bayberry, one pound of 
coarse Nerve-Powder, half a pound of coarse golden 
seal, and two ounces of No. 2, pour one gallon of 
boiling water ; steep, for several hours, on hot em- 
bers; pour it off; add half a gallon of boiling water, 
and steep as before; then strain through a thick 
cloth ; let it settle clear, and pour it off the grounds ; 
then add one gallon of sugar-house molasses, one 
gallon of Jamaica rum, and one gallon of No. 6. 
When cool, beat up the whites of three eggs, and 
mix well with a pint of this syrup first; then mix 
the whole together, and scald and skim it carefully, 
and, when cold, bottle it up for use. 

This makes a very pure and valuable cholera sy- 
rup, and, the spirit being heated over the fire, becomes 
reduced ; and it is an excellent medicine for that com- 
plaint of children, called cholera infantum. It may 
be used in all cases of violent pain in the stomach 
or bowels. 

Dose. — Adults may take from a tablespoonful at a 
time, (and repeat at discretion,) to a wine-glass full, 
according to the violence of the disease. 

Children may take one, two, or three teaspoonfuls, 
according to their age. 



120 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

COUGH DROPS. 



4 oz. Nerve-Powder* 
4 oz. wake robin, 
1 oz. cayenne. 



4 oz. hoarhound, 

4 oz. bayberry, 

4 oz. golden seal, 

4 oz. skunk cabbage root, 

These articles (coarsely pulverized) should be 
boiled in one gallon of soft water, down to one half; 
then strain off the decoction, and let it settle clear ; 
after which, add three pounds of good sugar; scald 
and skim it ; and, when cold, add four ounces of 
Tincture No. 1, two ounces clear 3d Preparation, 
and bottle for use. 

This is a valuable preparation for coughs, con- 
sumptions, and all complaints of the breast or lungs; 
and may be taken two or three times a day, as the 
case may require. 

Dose. — A half or a teaspoonful, in a tea of Com- 
position, Nerve^Powder, ginger, or Spiced Bitters, 

It is also an excellent emetic for infants, in croup, 
hooping cough, &c. Dose, from a half to a tea- 
spoonful, every ten minutes, till relieved. 

HEALING SALVE. 



1 lb. fresh butter, 
1 lb. beeswax. 



1 lb. white turpentine, 
1 lb. balsam fir. 



Melt and simmer them together ; then strain off 
for use : to be applied to sores, after the inflamma- 
tion has been allayed. 

NERVE OINTMENT. 



2 lbs. bark of the root of 
bitter sweet, 



1 lb. wormwood, 
1 lb. camomile. 



Put into neat's-foot oil, and simmered for twelve 
hours, and then add one ounce of spirits of turpentine 
to each pound of the ointment. 

This preparation is for a bruise, strain, calice, or 
corns. See No. 6, &c. 



121 

STRENGTHENING PLASTER. 

Fill a large kettle with mullen and burdock leaves; 
boil them well in soft water, and wring them out ; 
fill up the kettle again, with fresh leaves ; boil them 
and wring them out as before. Then boil down the 
liquor to the consistence of molasses, and add three 
pounds of rosin and two pounds of white turpentine ; 
then simmer them well together, until the water is 
evaporated ; stirring it with a stick at the same time. 
Try a little of it now, in cold water, to see if it will 
work in the hand like shoemaker's wax, and, if it is 
too soft, add more rosin, and, if too hard, add more 
turpentine ; and, when tempered to your mind, pour 
the whole into cold water and work it like wax. 

This plaster is used for weakness in the back, 
limbs, or any other part of the body. It should be 
spread on soft leather, or thick muslin, double, and 
applied to the parts affected. 

ADHESIVE AND STRENGTHENING PLASTER. 



Clean Rosin, 3 lbs. 

Beeswax 4 oz. 



Burgundy Pitch. . .4 oz. 
Tallow, 4 oz. 



Melt these together, and then add : 



Sweet Oil, i oz. 

Sassafras Oil, J oz. 



Camphor \ oz. 

West India Rum. . 1 gill. 



When the latter articles are well incorporated with 
the former, pour the whole into a vessel of water, and 
work it in the hands, till cold. A little more rosin, 
or sweet oil, may be required, in certain seasons, to 
make it of the right consistence. 

This plaster is used for the purpose of confining 
the edges of large wounds or ulcers together, in order 
that they may heal with greater facility. When ap- 
plied for this purpose, spread some of it on a long and 
narrow slip of linen cloth ; then bring the edges of 
the wound as nearly together as possible, and apply 



122 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

a piece of this slip, cut to the proper length, across 
the wound. Then apply other pieces in the same 
manner, until the whole wound is covered. Some- 
times the wound, or ulcer, may be covered wholly by 
one plaster, with holes cut through it, so as to permit 
the matter to escape from the wound. 

It is also good for strains, bruises, weakness of the 
back or limbs, and for rheumatic pains. 

CANCER-PLASTER. 

Dr. Thomson's cancer-plaster is made of the heads 
of red clover, by boiling two brass kettlefuls in the 
same water, and pressing the heads to get out all the 
juice ; then boil down the liquor to the consistence 
of tar, and it will be fit for use. This is an excellent 
plaster, but it is difficult to obtain ; and, where it 
cannot be had, the following, or any of the plasters , 
or poultices recommended in this work, will answer 
as good substitutes. 

Take equal parts of brown sugar, wheat flour, 
No. 1, No. 2, white pond lily root, (fine,) and good 
ginger ; wet them with No. 6, and mix them well 
together. Apply this plaster to the cancer-sore or 
tumour, while undergoing the regular medical treat- 
ment for the cure of cancers. (See Cancer-sores.) 

POULTICES. 

Make a strong tea of red raspberry leaves, or of 
No. 3 ; and thicken it with ground slippery elm, gin- 
ger, and crackers. This is an excellent poultice for 
all cankerous sores, or for scalds or burns, after the fire 
has been extracted by the application of cold water. 

Poultice for White Swelling, — One tablespoon- 
ful of Green Emetic, one do. of No. 2, one do. of fine 
pond lily, one do. of fine salt, and one of hard soap, 
scraped fine; wet the whole with hot water, and 
mix, and bring them to a proper consistence. 



123 

Poultice for Swelled Joints, occasioned by In- 
flammatory Rheumatism. — Four tablespoonfuls of 
fine salt, two do. of fine cayenne, one do. of Brown 
Emetic; put these into a pint of hot water, and 
thicken with Indian meal, fine elm, and Composition 
Powder. This poultice must extend round the joint, 
and be kept constantly wet with cold milk and water ; 
take warm medicine inwardly, at the same time. It 
may be applied to any other pain or swelling ; and to 
the feet, in fever ; especially if the head be much af- 
fected ; observing to keep it wet during its application. 

Poultice of Lobelia. — Green Emetic and fine 
slippery elm, equal parts, wet with spirits, and applied 
to rheumatic pains, will often effect a cure. This 
poultice must be re-wet with spirits, whenever it be- 
comes dry. 

STIMULATING LINIMENT, 

For contortions of the limbs, (as in St. Vitus's 
Dance,) cold extremities, and erratic pains. 

Spirits of Hartshorn . 2 oz. No. 6 2 oz. 

Olive Oil 4 oz. Tincture Cayenne. . 1 oz. 

Tincture of Nervine. 4 oz. 

Shake these well together, and apply to the parts 
affected, before the fire. 

PEPPER SAUCE, {Anti-Emetic Drops.) 

Take one ounce of cayenne, two tablespoonfuls of 
fine salt, and one quart of the best vinegar ; mix, and 
bottle for use. In cases of dyspepsia, indigestion, or 
coldness of the stomach, this preparation should be 
used freely at meals. It is the best remedy, to stop 
vomiting, we have ever used ; given in Moses of a 
tablespoonful or less. Dr. Thomson recommends 
spearmint tea — this is also good ; and mint, bruised 
and simmered in spirits and applied to the stomach, 



124 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

has stopped violent vomiting, when many other things 
had been tried in vain. 

The Pepper Sauce may also be used as bathing 
drops ; for cold feet, rheumatism, headache, inflam- 
mations, bruises, sprains, palsied limbs, &c. 

TINCTURES. 

The Tincture of No. 2, is made by digesting 
four ounces of the best cayenne in one quart of alco- 
hol, for ten days, in a hot summer heat ; shaking it 
often. Twenty or thirty drops of this tincture, in a 
tumbler of cold water, is much better than a glass of 
spirits, in either a cold or a hot day. 

The Tincture of Nervine. — -Take four ounces 
of the American Valerian, (coarsely pulverized,) and 
one quart of alcohol, and digest for ten days, as above 
directed. A teaspoonful or two of this tincture, will 
answer, sometimes, instead of a dose of Nerve-Powder. 

Compound Tincture of Golden Seal. — Take 
three ounces of golden seal, one ounce of prickly ash, 
one half-ounce of cloves, and one half-ounce of cinna- 
mon ; digest these articles in a quart of alcohol, for 
twenty days, in a summer heat ; strain off, and bottle 
for use. One or two teaspoonfuls of this tincture, in 
a glass of water, (with or without sweetening,) is very 
grateful to the stomach, where bitter tonics are needed. 

DIURETIC TEA. 



Poplar 8 oz. 

Juniper berries 8 oz. 

Clivers 8 oz. 



Gum Myrrh 1 oz. 

Cinnamon 1 oz. 

Cayenne J oz. 



All finely pulverized, and mix them well together. 

This preparation is one of the safest and best diu- 
retics I have ever used. This is very useful in drop- 
sies, stranguary, and gravel ; and may be used freely, 
while undergoing regular treatment, for either of these 
complaints. Pour half a pint of boiling water on a 



125 

small tablespoonful ; strain, sweeten with honey, and 
drink it warm. 

Clivers are known under the name of Robin- 
run-the-hedge. The stalk is four-square, and rough 
on the edges like a sickle, and has five or six very 
small leaves at each joint ; and the blossoms are very 
small and white. It generally grows on meadow or 
mill-race banks. Dr. Thomson says, " A strong tea, 
made of this herb, is good for the stoppage of urine, 
and may be made use of for all obstructions, in those 
parts, to advantage." See New Guide, p. 11. 

VOLATILE SALTS, (Smelling Bottles.) 
Take one ounce sal ammoniac, and two ounces pearl- 
ash ; pulverize them separately, and mix them well 
together, and bottle quickly for use. You can add a 
few drops of such essence as may please your fancy. 



A COURSE OF MEDICINE. 
When about to administer a regular course of 
medicine, the first thing you must attend to is, to see 
that a sufficient supply of the different articles of me- 
dicine are in readiness; and, also, that there is plenty 
of hot water, hot stones, chicken soup, or thickened 
milk, to answer your purpose. These things being 
in readiness, make a quart pitcher full of strong Com- 
position, or No. 3 tea ; if the No. 3 is used, add a 
small teaspoonful of No. 2 ; sweeten the tea, and give 
the patient two or three half teacupful doses, in the 
course of ten minutes, adding small portions of Nerve- 
Powder, or No. 6, if you think it necessary. After 
this, place him over the steam, or in the vapour bath, 
and let him continue in the bath fifteen or twenty 
minutes, or, until a free perspiration comes on ; giving 
the No. 3, or Composition occasionally, to keep up 



126 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

the inward heat ; adding a little No. 2 to each dose, 
if necessary. When the patient has been over the 
steam, as long as he can conveniently bear it, wipe 
him off with spirits and water, vinegar and water, or 
throw about two or three quarts of cold water over 
him, and wipe him dry ; shielding him, as much as 
possible, from the air, while doing it. When this is 
done, place him in a warm bed, and give the Emetic, 
that is, one teaspoonful of the brown or green, in half 
a teacup of No. 3 ; to which, add half a teaspoonful 
of Nerve-Powder, and one teaspoonful of the 3d Pre- 
paration. This generally pukes in fifteen or twenty 
minutes ; but, whether it does or not, repeat the dose 
in thirty minutes, and, unless this second dose cleanses 
the stomach well, repeat 'it a third or a fourth time, 
until this is accomplished. While puking, give plenty 
of No. 3, Composition, or pennyroyal tea, to assist 
the operation of the Emetic. Chicken-broth, or boil- 
ed milk, may also be used freely, during the opera- 
tion. The patient may also have a glass or two of 
cold water, if he requires it. 

It generally takes from one to three hours to com- 
plete the operation of an emetic ; but I have attended 
patients, where, after giving a sufficiency of the eme- 
tic (which is three or four doses) to cleanse the 
stomach, I have waited from three to ten hours, before 
the operation was over. 

Where there is much acidity or sourness on the 
stomach, it would be well to add a bit of pearlash, or 
sal aeratus, as large as a pea, to one or two doses of 
the emetic. 

As soon as the operation of the emetic is over, 
give the patient a dose of Spice Bitters, No. 4, or a 
glass of Superior No. 4, or 5 ; and, in a few minutes 
after, some food ; such as the patient may desire. He 
will now, in all probability, be inclined to sleep; 



127 

which he should be permitted to do. After resting 
a while, an injection should be administered, prepared 
as follows : To half a pint of No. 3 tea, add one tea- 
spoonful of No. 1, half a teaspoonful of No. 2, one 
teaspoonful of Nerve-Powder, and one teaspoonful of 
No. 6. When the operation of the injection is over, 
and the patient is sufficiently rested, steam him and 
wash down, as before directed ; and he may then 
dress or go to bed, as the case may require. . 

The above is what we mean by a full or regular 
course of medicine ; it is for one day only, and gene- 
rally occupies from three to seven hours. In very 
violent cases, such as congestive fever, and fits, I have 
given two such courses to the same patient, in a day ; 
and for Jive days in succession. 

After going through the above course, it will be 
necessary to give the Bitter Tonics three or four times 
in a day ; and, if the disease is not completely broken 
up, to repeat the course in a day or two, or follow it 
up with 

DR. LOGAN'S LONG COURSE; 

which will be of essential service, if the case be of 
long standing. In dyspepsia, chlorosis, and eruptions 
on the skin or head, as tenia capitis, this course 
should not be dispensed with. Dr. Logan directs 
the use of golden seal, in the middle of the day, while 
taking this medicine ; but any of the bitter prepara- 
tions will answer the same purpose. 

Directions. — Take Composition Powder at night; 
next morning take bitter root ; second night No. 3 
powder ; second morning No. 4 powder ; third night 
Composition ; third morning bitter root ; fourth night 
No. 3 ; fourth morning No. 4 ; fifth night Composi- 
tion ; fifth morning No. 4 ; sixth night No. 3 ; sixth 
morning give the stomach three brisk actions with 



128 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

No. 1 powder, that is, three teaspoonfuls of No. 1 
infused in 3 gills of tepid water, and take one gill at 
a dose, fifteen or twenty minutes intervening between 
each dose. 



DR. WM. JOHNSTON'S SHORT COURSE. 

Directions. — Bathe the feet in warm water, for 
ten or fifteen minutes ; increasing the temperature of 
the water until it is as hot as you can bear it ; drink- 
ing Composition at the same time, to raise the inward 
heat ; then wipe the feet dry, and rub them, well with 
Pepper Sauce ; pull on the stockings and go to bed ; 
and take two or three doses of the Emetic, to cleanse 
the stomach. After the operation is over, take a dose 
of Bitters and some food ; and, when the sweating 
abates, wipe dry and change your clothes. 

In nine cases out of ten, this short course of treat- 
ment will throw off the first attacks of disease, and 
save you a great deal of sickness and expense ; and 
will save the doctor, also, a great deal of riding and 
visiting, for the purpose of keeping you sick. 



, HOW TO STEAM. 

Various methods have been devised for applying 
the steam or vapour bath ; but the following may be 
used in all cases, as the means can be had in every 
family. 

Having hot water, and five or six half bricks or 
stones well heated, take a common washing-tub, and 
cover the bottom of it about three-quarters of an inch 
deep with the hot water ; place a split or rush-bottom 
chair on the top of the tub, with the feet resting on 
two narrow boards, separated so as to admit the 
bricks or stones to be passed into the tub between 



sick man's friend. 129 

them ; and, if the tub is a large one, another narrow 
board may be placed across it, in front of the chair, 
for the patient's feet to rest on. The patient must be 
seated on this chair with his clothes off, and a blanket 
brought around him and the chair, from behind, the 
upper edge of which must be brought over his shoul- 
ders, and pinned under his chin ; the lower edge 
reaching down to, or near the floor, and around the 
tub. Another blanket must now be placed around the 
patient and tub before ; the upper part of which must 
be brought up close under his chin, carrying it over 
his shoulders, and pinning it behind the back of the 
chair ; thus forming a kind of tent, enveloping the 
patient, tub, and chair ; in which he sits with his 
head out. But, if the patient's head is affected, the 
first blanket may be brought over the top of the head, 
and down the sides of the face, so as to cover the 
ears, and then pinned under the chin, leaving the 
face only exposed to the air. 

The patient, being thus placed over the steam, and 
having previously taken two or three doses of the 
warming medicine ; a hot stone is now passed into 
the tub, and the vapour ascends, being confined by 
the blankets, around the body of the patient ; and, 
when the stone becomes too cool to produce a lively 
steam, another stone is put into the tub ; and, by this 
means, a lively steam is kept up, still putting in a hot 
stone, as the patient can bear the steam, until a pro- 
fuse perspiration is produced. Should the steam be- 
come too hot, the blankets must be raised, to allow 
the cool air to enter. If the patient should be hard 
to sweat, he should take the more cayenne, in warm 
water, sweetened, or in his Composition, or No. 3 tea, 
while steaming. 

If the patient should become faint, or feeble, let 
him have cold water to drink, if he craves it ; and 
9 



130 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

dash a little on his face or bosom, or pour it on his 
back or head, which, if properly attended to, will 
generally afford relief; but, if it does not, take him 
off the steam and put him into bed. 

When the steaming is finished, wipe off, as direct- 
ed in the regular course of medicine. 

METHOD OF STEAMING SMALL CHILDREN. 

Let the woman who is to manage the child, be 
seated on a stool or chair, having a blanket over her 
lap, reaching down to, and along the floor, in front 
of her feet. Place the child, with its clothes off, on 
her lap, in the blanket; bring it over the shoulders, 
and pin it under its chin. The blanket must now be 
brought round the child, and stretched out before, so 
as to form a kind of funnel, in which it sits; and a 
pan or basin, with hot water in it, must be placed at, 
or in the lower end of this funnel, and the warm va- 
pour will ascend around the child. By putting a 
small hot stone occasionally in the pan, giving the 
child some warming medicine at the same time, you 
may steam it in this way, until a free perspiration is 
produced. 

The person holding the child must be the judge in 
regard to the heat of the steam ; and the attendant 
will regulate it, by raising the.blanket when too hot, 
or changing the stones when too cool. If the child 
is very young, and an emetic is needed, take a tea- 
spoonful of the Green Emetic, steep it in a teacupful 
of warm water, (not boiling ;) strain the decoction, 
and sweeten it, and give the child a teaspoonful every 
ten minutes, until it operates. After the operation is 
over, give the No, 5 Syrup, or the Infant Drops. 



131 

Haying conducted my readers thus far, I will now 
take a brief view of the effects which the principal 
medicines of Dr. Thomson have upon the system. 
The reader, no doubt, has already observed, that they 
are classed under six numbers — of which numbers, 
that elegant and scientific writer, Dr. D. F. Naroen, 
thus speaks, in his treatise on the cholera. See Thom- 
sonian Recorder, from p. 226 to p. 237, vol. 1 : — 

No. 1 — Is the only medicine known in the world 
possessed with powers like it, viz. : to cause a natural 
action of the brain, and produce a new and abundant 
influx of sensive, and expel the noxious substances 
which corrupt the organic life, without leaving this 
organ anyways impaired, as the narcotics do ; but, on 
the contrary, it always causes a natural action, if it 
acts at all. It acts only where there is life; as it 
has not the least power of doing any injury to the 
organs, nor to abstract life from them. It can only 
help nature to perform her natural functions. 

No. 2. — This is the generator of heat in the sys- 
tem ; its effects are, to rouse the sensive in the organs, 
and is, properly speaking, a stimulus ; it gives energy 
to all the other medicines. 

No. 3 — Possesses the power of gathering from the 
system such noxious substances as are made by the 
morbid action, and to give the organs the power of 
self-contraction, (antiseptic,) by removing the cor- 
rupted substance from them, and leaving them in 
better order to perform their original functions with 
increased vigour. 

No. 4 — Possesses the power of restoring the debi- 
litated organs; it causes a natural secretion of the 
fluids, as well as to keep the system in its proper 
functions. 

No. 5 — Restores the digestive organs. I would 
place this as a supplement to No. 4. 



132 the good Samaritan; or, 

No. 6. — This is the well known 'panacea, which 
is known by almost every body, where " steam doc- 
tors" have passed, which has been most universally 
worshipped by those who have used it, and ridiculed 
and jeered by the envious or prejudiced. This is so 
composed of the former numbers as to possess all the 
qualities of Nos. 2, 3, and 4. Its peculiar composi- 
tion has made it better adapted for the use of every- 
body. It has powerful effects upon the body which 
is yet animated, but perfectly harmless as to the de- 
struction of even the most delicate organ. On the 
contrary, it can only produce healthy action, since it 
destroys or impairs none. It is known to be the 
greatest antiseptic yet used. 

To this might be added another number, (the 
Nerve-Powder ;) it is that which pacifies the nerves, 
and might be called happifier, or comforter.. It is 
composed of such vegetables as will always relieve 
those distressing nervous affections, which so much, 
harass the patient. 

In speaking of the power and properties of Dr. 
Thomson's medicines, Dr. Logan observes — " This 
query is also proposed : * How, or in what way, is it 
that your remedies operate to remove obstructions ?' 
Answer — 

" No. 1 is emetic, to remove morbid matter from 
the stomach ; also, from its volatile nature, an active 
diluent and stimulant, purifying the blood, by throw- 
ing off, through the medium of the pores, all morbid 
matter that may exist there. 

" No. 2 is a diffusive stimulant, the purest and most 
active known ; increasing the natural heat, the first 
principle of life. 

" No. 3. — All the articles composing this number, 
possess tannin in abundance, and the most active 
antiseptic properties; they loosen and remove any 



sick man's friend. 133 

canker or morbid matter that may be lodged in the 
rugae of the stomach, [preparing it to be evacuated 
by No. 1,] and, also, all the same matter that may 
exist in the intestines, carrying off the whole by de- 
jection. 

"No. 4. — All the articles of this number pos- 
sess the most active and powerful tonic proper- 
ties, acting on the secretory vessels and glands, par- 
ticularly on the liver ; the action and effect here, is 
peculiarly important, inducing the formation of pure 
bile, of a proper healthy quality, and sufficient quan- 
tity, to act as the natural physic to the body, and the 
only physic nature intended us to use. 

" No. 5 is exhibited to restore healthy action to the 
intestines, when they have been paralyzed or debili- 
tated by disease, either acute or chronic, and acts as 
a demulcent alterative. 

* No. 6 is applied externally, as a detergent, rube- 
facient, and antiseptic ; internally, as a stimulant and 
antiseptic. 

" Composition acts as an alterative, diluent, sialo- 
gogue, expectorant, sudorific, tonic, &c. Bitter Root 
acts as a very mild cathartic and alterative. Nerve- 
Powder acts as a sedative and antispasmodic' Slip- 
pery Elm acts as a demulcent, &c, and, inter alia, 
you have the Clivers, &c, &c, to continue the action 
upon the kidneys and bladder, after the operation of 
No. 1, as we well know this number will always 
induce a healthy action, in the two organs above 
named, by its peculiar action on the blood." 

" Recapitulation. — No. 1 is emetic, tonic, sudori- 
fic, expectorant, sialogogue, diluent, and alterative. 

" No. 2 is stimulant, carminative, tonic, diuretic, 
antispasmodic, emmenagogue, sudorific, expectorant, 
sialogogue, rubefacient, anthelmintic, diluent, and 
alterative. 



134 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

" No. 3 is astringent, diuretic, antiacid, anthelmin- 
tic, antiseptic, and alterative. 

" No. 4 is tonic, antispasmodic, diluent, emollient, 
and alterative. 

" No. 5 is demulcent, emollient, antispasmodic, and 
alterative. 

" No. 6 is tonic, antispasmodic, emmenagogue, diu- 
retic, diaphoretic, expectorant, detergent, antiseptic, 
rubefacient, diluent, and alterative. 

" Bitter Root is cathartic and alterative. Composi- 
tion is alterative, diluent, sialogogue, expectorant, 
sudorific, and tonic. Nerve-Powder is sedative, and 
antispasmodic. Slippery Elm is a demulcent. Clivers 
is a discutient, and diuretic, &c. &c." 



I will here add the following recipes for preparing 
" Turlington's Balsam of Life," and my own " Vege- 
table Anti-Dyspeptic Pills." These preparations may 
be considered Anti-Thomsonian, but no matter ; those 
who do not like them need not use them. 



BALSAM OF LIFE. 



Benzoin 12 oz. 

Purified Storax. . . .8 oz. 



Balsam of Tolu. . . .4 oz. 
Socotrine Aloes. . . .2 oz. 



Digest these articles in one gallon of alcohol, for 
ten days, in a warm place ; then filter or shire off the 
balsam, and bottle for use. 

To be applied externally, for erysipelas, burns, tet- 
ters, ringworms, and other eruptions of the skin, with 
a feather, four or five times a day. 

THE VEGETABLE ANTI-DYSPEPTIC PILLS. 



Bitter Root 4 oz. 

Golden Seal 4 oz. 

Butternut Extract. .4 oz. 
Rhubarb 4 oz. 



Gum Aloes 4 oz. 

Brown Emetic 2 oz. 

Best Cayenne 2 oz. 

EssencePeppermint £ oz, 



135 

The above articles are to be mixed in a mucilage, 
made by dissolving six ounces of gum arabic in a pint 
of soft water, and should remain in a mass for twenty- 
four or forty -eight hours, so that the articles may be 
well incorporated together, before being rolled out 
into pills. 

These pills will generally cleanse the stomach, re- 
move habitual costiveness, promote digestion, increase 
the appetite, relieve sick headache, and give tone to 
the general constitution. 

Dose. — For an adult, from three to ten pills, on 
going to bed in the evening. For children, from one 
to three may be given. Great benefit has resulted by 
giving one pill per day, to children who were troubled 
with worms. Adults, by taking two pills at a time, 
three times a day, will, in a short time, remove habit- 
ual costiveness. 

A less quantity of these pills may be made, by 
observing the above proportions. 

THE AGUE CHASER. 
To one quart good Madeira Wine, add one ounce 
Peruvian bark, one ounce fine cloves, one ounce cream 
of tartar, and one half ounce of fine bayberry. The 
dose is a wine-glass full three or four times a day, 
after having first cleansed the stomach well with an 
emetic, as directed in my "Short Course of Medi- 
cine." 

FOR TETTERS, RINGWORM, OR ERYSIPELAS ON 
THE FACE. 

It is said that half a pint of clean oats, stewed in a 

quart of good vinegar down to half a pint, rubbed on 

the face often through the day, and the face washed 

with Castile soap, every morning, will cure the most 

inveterate redness arising from the above forms of 

disease, in a short time. 



136 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

I am now trying this remedy myself, and observing 
the dietetic regimen below recommended ; and, I 
think, it bids fair for effecting a radical cure. 



In concluding our Materia Medica, we were about 
commencing an article on Materia Alimentaria ; or, 
at least, to make some strictures on the popular mode 
of living, when the following extract met our eye, 
which purports to be from a medical work now, we 
believe, in press, by Mr< M. Matsos-, of Philadelphia. 
Embracing, as it does, a large portion of what we 
wished to say upon the subject, we have taken the 
liberty of enriching our pages with the important 
truths which it inculcates : 

"UNBOLTED WHEAT BREAD. 

It may appear somewhat novel to mention bread 
as an article of the Materia Medica ; but, believing as 
I do, that when properly prepared, it is of inestimable 
value, both as food and medicine, I cannot refrain 
from giving it a place. If there is any one thing 
comprised in our daily food more injurious than an- 
other, it is the bread made of superfine flour ; and it 
is often rendered still more pernicious by the addition 
of alum, pipe clay, plaster of Paris, blue vitriol, and 
many other injurious and poisonous substances em- 
ployed by the bakers. It gives rise to costiveness in 
its most obstinate form, and with this springs up the 
ten thousand diseases with which poor human nature 
is afflicted. People then fly to Brandreth's Pills, or 
some other purgative, for relief, and thus they go on 
from week to week, and month to month, eating the 
bread and irritating their bowels with physic, until 
they become a perfect wreck, and death closes the 
scene. Near the close of the last century, eighty 



sick man's friend. 137 

thousand English soldiers were fed on bread made of 
unbolted meal, owing to the scarcity of provisions, 
and such was its effects, that the officers and physi* 
cians of the army declared that the soldiers were 
never before so healthy and robust ; and that disease 
of every kind had almost disappeared from among 
them. 

The inhabitants of Westphalia, says a writer in 
Rees's Cyclopedia, are a living testimony to the salu- 
tary effects of this sort of bread ; and it is remarkable 
that they are very seldom attacked with acute fevers, 
and those other diseases which arise from bad hu- 
mours. 

The great objection to fine wheat flour is, that it 
is too concentrated, and requires the bran or innutri- 
tious portion, to adapt it to the wants of the system. 
Man cannot live long on highly concentrated food. 
Magendie, the French physiologist, ascertained that 
animals which had been fed exclusively on butter, or 
fat, presented, on examination after death, that pecu- 
liar state of the liver denominated fatty. He fed 
dogs on sugar and water, and found that they soon 
drooped, became emaciated, and diseased with ulcers, 
and died in about a month. " If dogs be fed on su- 
perfine flour bread and water," says the author of the 
Science of Human Life, [Mr. Graham,] " they will 
die in about seven weeks ; but if they be fed on 
bread made of the whole natural substance of the 
wheat, or on unbolted wheat meal bread and water, 
they will live and do well." The same writer says : 
"Children whose food consists for a considerable 
time of superfine flour bread and other concentrated 
substances, as sugar and butter, generally become 
weak and sickly, and are often covered with sores ; 
but by putting them on a diet of good bread made of 
unbolted wheat meal, with milk and water, or pure 



138 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

soft water for drink, and be allowed to indulge freely 
in the use of good fruits in their season, none of the 
evils which result from concentrated forms of aliment 
will be experienced, but if properly treated in other re- 
spects, will be perfectly healthy, robust, and sprightly." 

I have been the means of introducing the unbolted 
wheat bread into a large number of families, and al- 
ways with the best results. Persons who have been 
costive for years, have been relieved of it in a week 
or fortnight, and oftentimes in two or three days. I 
never knew it to fail in a single instance, and have 
recommended it in a great number of cases. By con- 
tinuing the use of it as an article of food, it will keep 
the bowels regular, unless the habits of the individual, 
and the gross abuse of his digestive organs, are such 
as to counteract all its good effects. In piles and sick, 
headache, it is a remedy of great importance. In 
the latter disease it is necessary that tea, coffee, but- 
ter, and all animal fats be avoided. Food and me- 
dicine are somewhat synonymous terms with Dr. 
Thomson, and this bread may be strictly regarded 
as both. 

If those who are in the habit of drugging them- 
selves with physic, would make use of the unbolted 
wheat bread, eating a clever slice at each meal, they 
would cease to complain of costiveness, and find 
themselves gaining strength, and becoming every day 
more healthy and vigorous. It has been objected to 
the bread, however, that it irritates the bowels, and 
acts as a purgative. This is a mistake, for the bran 
is soothing to the bowels, and, unlike physic, does not 
leave them ultimately in a torpid or inactive state. 
Besides, it produces natural stools, and not the copi- 
ous or watery discharges which follow the adminis- 
tration of a purgative. In some instances, where 
there was considerable disorder of the bowels, I have 



sick man's friend. 139 

known the stools to be more frequent than natural, 
but this continues only for a limited time. 

It was my lot to be obstinately costive for many 
years, which I endeavoured to remove in the first 
place by small doses of bitter root ; but being dissatis- 
fied with that, I resorted to courses of medicine, but I 
never experienced any other than temporary relief; 
and at length I changed my diet, eating the unbolted 
wheat bread, and subsisting principally on vegetable 
food, taking a little lean meat now and then, when I 
felt a desire for it, and from that day, which has now 
been more than a year, I have never been troubled 
with costiveness in the slightest degree. 

Making the Bread. — The wheat should be of 
good quality, cleansed from dirt and all impurity, and 
ground with sharp stones to cut the bran fine. The 
flour thus prepared, the bread is to be made with good 
yeast, and baked so as to be light and sweet, which 
any well skilled housewife knows how to do. Home 
made yeast is preferable to brewer's, because the lat- 
ter often contains poison. The bread should not be 
eaten under twelve hours after it is baked, for every- 
body knows that warm bread, cakes, or any thing of 
the kind, is highly injurious. 

Bread made as follows, is light and wholesome, and 
has the sweet and peculiar taste of the wheat in its 
natural state. Take of the unbolted meal any desira- 
ble quantity, and make it into a stiff dough with milk 
somewhat sour or changed, which has been previous- 
ly sweetened "by the addition of sal asratus. It is 
better to dissolve the sal seratus in warm water before 
it is used, and no more should be put into the milk 
than is necessary to give it a sweet taste. If any 
sourness remain in the milk it will cause the bread to 
be heavy. As soon as the dough is put into the pan, 
preparatory to baking, plunge a case-knife through it 



140 THE GOOD SAMARITAN ; OR, 

to the bottom, cutting across two-thirds of the mass. 
This prevents the loaf from becoming solid in the 
middle. The bread will be more light by allowing 
the dough to stand fifteen or twenty minutes before 
putting it into the oven. 

Bread thus prepared is fit for the table of an emperor, 
and besides being nourishing and easy of digestion, is 
one of the best medicines in the world. Persons with 
the dyspepsia should eat it at every meal. It excites 
the secretion of saliva, and leaves the mouth moist, 
whereas the fine wheat bread often dries the mouth, 
and can scarcely be swallowed without frequent 
draughts of tea, coffee, or other drink. It is delicious 
to the taste, and with new milk boiled, and thickened 
with fine flour, adding cream if desirable, it makes 
superior toast, which is excellent for persons recover- 
ing from sickness. The bread, cut into thin slices and 
toasted until it is quite hard and brown, makes supe- 
rior coffee, espacially when boiled with sugar and 
milk. There is no beverage more delicious and 
nourishing. 1 know of many families who use it in- 
stead of the ordinary tea and coffee, and they find it 
much better for their health." 

If individuals who are labouring under slight indis- 
positions, to which the popular mode of living is so 
liable to subject them, would follow strictly the advice 
above given, we feel satisfied that a large amount of 
suffering, and, by consequence, the inconvenience and 
ofttimes painfully distressing symptoms which follow 
the administration of medicine, would be wholly avoid- 
ed. And this was the opinion of Arbuthnot, when 
he declared, " that by diet alone all the intentions 
of medicine may be answered." 

We have long deplored the unnatural state into 
which society have fallen in regard to dietetics, and 



141 

had come to the melancholy conclusion, that no reme- 
dy could be prescribed, no system devised, that would 
effectually obviate the fatal consequences of such a 
course. . But fortunately for mankind, a redeeming 
light has burst upon their astonished vision ; which, 
if faithfully followed, will lead them to that state of 
health and happiness which a Benevolent Crea- 
tor designed they should enjoy. 

The limits which we have set to this work, will not 
permit us to follow out the subject to our satisfaction : 
our own experience alone would occupy too much 
space to be inserted in its pages. But for the infor- 
mation of our readers on this important subject, we 
would refer them to the works of "the American 
Physiological Society ;" and particularly to that mas- 
ter work, entitled " Lectures on the Science of Life," 
by Sylvester Graham, the great originator of the 
system of living called by his name. Although there 
are doctrines advanced in said lectures, in connection 
with medicine, which we consider erroneous, yet, 
taken as a whole, we believe they embrace more truth, 
more that is calculated permanently to benefit man- 
kind, than any work heretofore published. That sys- 
tem professes to be, and we believe is, founded upon 
the laws which govern the animal economy ; and, we 
predict, will ultimately be acknowledged as the great 
polar star of the practitioner of medicine. Our favour- 
ite system of medicine, we contend, is founded upon 
the laws of life ,• (as we endeavoured to show in a 
former chapter ;) and all our remedies act in strict 
conformity thereto. How beautifully, then, do the 
two systems work together ! the one, i. e. Graham's, 
teaching us to live so strictly in accordance with the 
natural laws of our being, as to preserve us in the 
highest state of health ; and when, in consequence of 
a violation of those laws, we are attacked by disease, 



142 the good Samaritan; or, 

the other, i. e. Thomson's, prescribes means and ap- 
pliances, which remove it, in full unison with the 
principle of life : increasing only the activity of 
the organs, without producing the least derangement 
of any of their parts. The one system preserves 
health ; the other aids in its restoration when lost. 

For the benefit of those who may not have an op- 
portunity of procuring the works referred to above, we 
will, with all due deference, prescribe a dietetic regi- 
men, and annex a few simple rules to be observed in 
connection therewith. We will not enter into a dis- 
cussion as to the kind of food best adapted to our 
condition or habits, but will rest satisfied for the pre- 
sent by observing that those who live upon a diet 
of bread, rice, potatoes, &c, and pure water as a 
drink, enjoy the highest state of health, and are less 
liable, when exposed, to take the ordinary or common 
forms of disease. We are in possession of an abun- 
dance of evidence in support of this proposition ; and 
the fact that a large majority of mankind subsist up- 
on such a diet, satisfies us in advocating it with such 
a degree of confidence. But as bread is one of the 
most expensive modes of using grain, it would be well 
if the labouring classes would remember, that nearly 
all the grain raised in this country would make the 
most nourishing food by boiling; and when it is used 
in this way, they are sure it escapes all those adultera- 
tions, which it too frequently receives from the hands 
of the miller and the baker. And who does not 
know, what wholesome and delicious meals can be 
prepared, of boiled rice, wheat, Indian corn, barley, 
rye, and even buckwheat; besides, potatoes, beans, 
peas, and other farinaceous substances ; which, if 
they were more generally used, would be less expen- 
sive, and far more conducive to health, than our pre- 
sent mode of living. 



143 

DIETETIC REGIMEN AND RULES. 
1. As to quantity. — One of the greatest evils of 
civilized life is, the immense quantity of food which 
we accustom ourselves to take at a single meal : the 
solid food being often sufficient for our sustenance from 
twenty-four to forty-eight hours; and this accompa- 
nied with and followed by large draughts of hot tea 
and coffee, which so distends the stomach, and relaxes 
its coats, that the process of digestion is but poorly 
carried on. One of the causes of dyspepsia lies here. 

Lewis Conaro, a Venetian nobleman, in his for- 
tieth year, after having led a life of licentiousness and 
debauchery, was attacked by disease, and when all 
hopes in medicine for his recovery was lost, he aban- 
doned it, and adopted such an abstemious course of 
living, that he not only soon recovered, but found 
himself in a better state of health than he had ever 
been during any former period of his life. He con- 
fined himself to just twelve ounces of solid food, and 
thirteen ounces of drink a day ; and reached his hun- 
dredth year! This, he found by observation and expe- 
rience, was the best plan he could pursue in order to 
preserve his health. But it does not follow, however, 
that this or any other given portion of nutriment is a 
proper standard by which all persons are to regulate 
their diet. Individual observation, and well tried ex- 
periments, can only determine this point. 

"We should never remain at table until a sense of 
fulness prevades the system, but should leave it with 
as much cheerfulness and buoyancy of spirits as when 
we sit down. We feel confident, that an undepraved 
appetite would rest satisfied with half the quantity 
that is usually eaten at meals. 

2. Time when. — Three times is adjudged often 
enough to take food during twenty-four hours. The 
first meal should not be taken until an hour after 



144 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

rising from bed, and after having taken sufficient ex- 
ercise to bring the blood into active circulation. Six 
hours should elapse before dinner, and the same time 
before taking the third meal. Four hours should then 
intervene before retiring to rest. 

3. Kinds of food, — We would in most cases ad- 
vise an entire abstinence from all animal food ; for 
experience has shown the fact, that a diet, consisting 
chiefly of animal food, excites thirst and nausea, oc- 
casions putrescence in the stomach and bowels, and 
finally brings on violent griping pains, accompanied 
with diarrhoea and dysentery : but in lieu of which, 
we would substitute a larger proportion of bread, made 
in the manner before described, together with the al- 
most Unlimited number of nutritious vegetables with 
which our land and gardens abound. The farmer or 
mechanic who thinks such a diet too weak, and not 
capable of sustaining him in his active employments, 
labours under a serious error. We would refer such 
to the hardy Irishman, with his spade in the bogs of 
Ireland, whose whole living consists of buttermilk, 
oat meal, and potatoes ; and to the hardy Russian, 
whose diet mostly consists of rye bread and cabbage 
broth, thickened wfth oat meal ; and yet is capable of 
performing a prodigious amount of labour, and of 
enduring fatigues almost incredible. Most of the 
cases recorded of persons performing a large amount 
of mental or physical labour — most of the cases of 
extraordinary longevity, will be found to have been 
such persons who abstained from flesh meats, or used 
them but sparingly , and from ardent spirits, tea, cof- 
fee, tobacco, &c. If we had time and space to spare, 
we would here point out.the evil consequences arising 
from a free indulgence in the use of those deleterious 
stimulants ; but as we have not, suffice it to say, that 
neither tea nor coffee contains the least nourishment for 






145 

either young or old, being merely stimulating drugs, 
producing, when used freely, that class of diseases 
which, for the want of a better name, we call nervous / 
and which never can be entirely cured until their 
use is altogether dispensed with. Indeed, we think 
the time is not far distant, when animal food, together 
with its disease-engendering accompaniments, will be 
regarded as ardent spirits are, among the most en- 
lightened of our farmers and mechanics. How long 
has it been, since strong drink was regarded as essen- 
tial, in the harvest-field, as the cradle and the rake 1 
And may not animal food share a similar fate ] 

4. Drinks. — On the subject of drinks we expect 
to meet with a flood of opposition ; and our remarks, 
we fear, will be but heedlessly regarded. Indeed it 
was our intention to have passed this part of our subject 
by, with merely noticing the deleterious effects pro- 
duced by the drugs alluded to ; but we have embark- 
ed in a cause which requires the development of 
truth ; and however harshly our sentiments may grate 
upon the ears of the votaries of fashion and prejudice* 
our duty is plain, and requires us to make any sacri- 
fice which their unpopularity may subject us to. 

The habit of drinking hot, strong tea and coffee, 
which the people of this country have generally ac- 
quired, we consider an evil which calls loudly for 
reform. There may be forms of disease in the treat- 
ment of which these drugs may be administred with 
advantage ; but we believe mankind would be bene- 
fited by their total annihilation. Our beloved country 
abounds with aromatic herbs which possess all their 
virtues, without any of their deleterious properties. 
The first named (tea) is a disagreeable, narcotic 
astringent ; and we believe can ^ever be taken in any 
great quantity, without being followed by evil conse- 
quences to the system. Even that lady, who finds a 
10 



146 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

remedy in a cup of strong tea for her sick headache, 
or the gouty, or hypochondriac, are hugging to their 
hosoms the insidious adder that has poisoned their life- 
blood, and now only increases their sufferings. 

The manner in which coffee is used, renders it 
equally pernicious. In the dyspeptic, it produces 
sour, acrid eructations ; in the nervous, tremors of the 
hands, giddiness, timidity, and sleepiness ; in the phleg- 
matic, it occasions disagreeable eruptions, costiveness, 
hemorrhoids, and oftentimes insupportable weakness. 
It excites the passions, and, in indolent persons, it pro- 
duces sleep. If the community were convinced, that 
their backaches, their headaches, their pains in the 
sides, the heart, the stomach, the bowels, the eyes, 
the limbs, &c, had their origin in the use of these 
health-destroying drugs, we doubt not, but they would 
indignantly abandon their use forever: yet such we 
believe to be the fact ! There must be a cause for the ill 
health and delicacy of the people of the present day, 
and their condition presents a striking contrast with 
the sound health and hardiness of our forefathers, 
who made little or no use of these articles. We 
would say to our readers, if you wish to rid your- 
selves of the complaints to which you are now sub- 
ject, and would wish to live out the full measure of 
your days, abandon at once the use of those health- 
destroying drugs. No respectable, or well informed 
physician, will advise their constant use. If you 
imagine you cannot eat your food without the help of 
some kind of fluid, we say, masticate it thoroughly 
— eat slowly — and nature will supply you with a 
sufficiency of pure saliva ; the due mixture of which 
with the food is an important feature in the digestive 
process. If, in consequence of the dryness or. inacti- 
vity of the salival glands, this does not prove suffi- 
cient, substitute pure water only, diminishing the 



147 

the quantity, until you can do without it altogether ; 
or at least until some time after you have eaten. Na- 
ture, we believe, supplies a sufficiency of gastric juice 
to carry on the process of digestion, which, if diluted 
even with pure water, is retarded. 

What we have said in regard to tea and coffee 
applies with tenfold more force against the use of in- 
toxicating drinks, such as brandies, wines, cider, beer, 
&c. Those who rely upon the nutritious properties 
of the last named, as, an apology for its use, we refer 
to the testimony elicited during the trial of E. C. 
Delavan, for libel, in the courts of Albany. It was 
there proved, that the water used in the manufac- 
ture of that article Was taken from stagnant ponds 
and pools, which were common receptacles for dead 
horses, dogs, cats, and the offal of slaughter-houses, and 
of other filthy and disgusting places. Such beer must 
have been quite as nourishing, no doubt, as "cold 
rat soup /" The evils, resulting from the use of intoxi- 
cating drink, being so wide-spread in their character, 
producing three-fourths of all the crime, pauperism, 
and wretchedness which abounds throughout the land, 
that we think there can be but few who are not aware 
of the fatal consequences of their use. To those who 
profess to be Thomsoxians, and who still continue 
the use of intoxicating drinks, we sny, you are aban- 
doning one of the first principles of your favourite 
system ; according to which, no agent that is essen- 
tially a poison, can at the same time be a medicine ; 
and no agent that is a medicine can be a poison. 
Alcohol is regarded by all classes of the community 
as a poison of the most deadly character. How then 
can you continue the use of an article so baneful in 
its tendency, and claim for yourself the character of 
a consistent advocate of reform 1 

Bathing. — An important feature in the regimen 



148 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

which we have here recommended, is the frequent use 
of the warm and cold bath. Yet, nothing on which 
the promotion of health so much depends, is so much 
neglected. The people of this country appear uni- 
versally to be affected with a species of hydrophobia ; 
they dread the sensation which water produces when 
applied to the skin, as though they were really af- 
fected with the true disease. As a means of pre- 
serving cleanliness, as well as a preventive and a 
remedy for disease, bathing in its different forms can- 
not be too highly recommended. It is a kind of uni- 
versal domestic remedy, that every person, in almost 
any situation, can apply, and should never be neglected. 
One of the most important functions of the animal 
economy is that of the skin in eliminating through 
its numerous pores the worn-out or waste matter of the 
system ; and there is nothing on which the health so 
much depends. Its suspension not only gives rise to 
the unpleasant sensations which immediately follow, 
but it is the source of numerous painful disorders : — 
diarrhoea, dysentery, diseased liver, kidneys, and con- 
sumption often have their origin in suppressed per- 
spiration. 

The daily use of the cold sponge bath, applied im- 
mediately on rising from bed, produces the most 
happy effects. The relaxed fibres and muscles of 
the system are immediately contracted, their elas- 
ticity increased, and additional vigour is imparted 
to the whole system. In all cases of debility, in hys- 
teria and hypochondria, in consequence of the extreme 
irritability of the nervous system which always exists 
in such affections, the cold bath is of the utmost import- 
ance. The stimulus which it imparts to the nerves, 
•excites to renewed exertion, and produces that equili- 
brium on which the natural vigour and sprightliness 
of the body so much depends. 



149 

The frequent use of the tepid or warm bath is also 
highly important. After severe bodily exertion, ex- 
cessive fatigue in travelling, or when the body is over- 
heated, from whatever cause, the application of the 
warm bath is highly advantageous. It produces a 
determination to the surface, allays the irritability, 
and softens the skin ; hence its use is indicated in all 
cases of internal congestion, and suppressed perspira- 
tion, and in cutaneous diseases of almost every cha- 
racter. The most proper time for applying the warm 
bath is the evening, just before retiring to rest. It 
secures the most invigorating" and refreshing sleep. 

We cannot close this chapter without urging upon 
our readers one of the precepts of the apostle Paul : 
" Be temperate in all things" in eating and drinking, 
in exercise and rest. Whether our pursuits require 
the constant exercise of the brain or the muscles, due 
care should be observed that one portion of the system 
should not be too constantly employed, to the injury 
of the remaining portions. The farmer and mechanic 
should not be so constantly employed at hard labour 
as to leave no time to cultivate his intellect, nor 
should the professional man devote himself so closely 
to his studies, as to prevent him from taking free and 
active exercise in the open air. Nature never de- 
signed one portion of mankind to devote themselves 
exclusively to intellectual pursuits, and the other 
part to hard muscular labour ; the proper exercise of 
both were evidently the intention of bur Creator, 
and the true source of happiness will be found only 
in fulfilling the intentions of nature. 



150 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 



CHAPTER VII. 

Containing an Abstract of the Common Medical 
Treatment of Disease, compiled from the Works 
of the most celebrated Men in the Profession, 
both in Europe and America. By a Regular 
Physician. 

COMMON MEDICAL TREATMENT. 

Abscesses, common. — Fomentation of warm water, 
of camomile infusion ; linseed meal poultice, &c. 

Acidities in the Stomachs of Children. — A tea- 
spoonful, or less, of antimonial wine, repeated every 
quarter of an hour, to vomit ; a few grains of rhubarb 
and magnesia, to open the - bowels; chalk mixture; 
air, exercise, friction, &c. 

Agues. — Put the feet in warm water ; give cordials, 
with large doses of bark and wine ; on the accession 
of the cold fits, give thirty drops of laudanum in cin- 
namon water, &c. 

Bile, vomiting of, $c. — Gentle emetics, purgatives, 
saline draughts : after which, twenty drops of lauda- 
num ; plenty of barley water ; foment seat of stomach 
with decoction of poppy heads ; give opiates, &c. 

Bleeding from the Nose. — Water sprinkled on the 
face and genitals ; styptic lotions, e. g. alum and wa- 
ter, vinegar, &c, snuffed up the nose, or cotton plugs 
dipped in them and put up. 

Biles. — Poultices, fomentations ; open and digest 
with ointment of yellow resin ; heal with Turner's 
cerate. 

Chicken-Pock. — Spare diet at first; small doses 






151 

of antimonial wine, (from five to ten drops, fre- 
quently ;) cold drink, such as toast and water, &c. 

Chilblains, — Defend from the cold, by warm cloth- 
ing ; use oil of camphor, oil of turpentine, &c. ; 
mixture of honey, turpentine, and fine flour, to be 
applied ; poultices and emollient ointments, if they 
break. 

. Cramp, — If from a wound or fracture, extract ex- 
traneous bodies and dilate the wound ; lay a pledget, 
dipped in tincture of opium, upon it ; take opium 
internally, in large doses. To hysteric women, aether ; 
to pregnant women, small bleedings. 

Colic, — Where violent, bleed ; give saline efferves- 
cent draughts, to each of which add twenty-five drops 
of laudanum ; active purgatives, carminatives, warm 
bath, &c. 

Contusions, (Bruises.) — Bathe the part with vine- 
gar; soap liniment; if necessary, a poultice of oat- 
meal and vinegar ; if there be much inflammation, 
bleed and purge, and use emollient fomentations ; if 
suppuration ensue, forward it ; treat as an open ab- 
scess. 

Convulsions in Children, — If from teething, lance 
the gums ; from worms, worm powders ; from the 
state of the bowels, give purgative powders ; if from 
rash thrown in, reproduce it by blister, the warm 
bath, &c. 

Costiveness. — Castor oil, one ounce — or jalap, 
twenty grains ; cream of tartar, thirty grains ; with 
rhubarb, ten to twenty grains. 

Corns, — Avoid the exciting cause, such as tight 
shoes ; put the feet, morning and evening, into warm 
water ; use litharge plaster ; rasp or cut them down. 
Introduce cotton between the toes, to prevent them 
from rubbing against each other. 

Coughs, common. — Use warm dilutent drink; 



152 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

avoid exposure to cold moist air ; keep to bed ; put the 
feet in warm water, and take some gruel at bed-time. 

Cow-Pock. — Medicine seems wholly unnecessary 
in this disease. It is now, moreover, so well known 
as a preventive of small-pox, that it needs no further 
remark. 

Croup. — Bleed by opening the jugular vein, and 
from the arm ; blister from ear to ear ; give gentle 
emetics, which repeat occasionally ; keep the child 
in an erect posture, &c. 

Deafness. — Oil of almonds, oil of turpentine ; if 
from deficiency of wax, balsam of tolu and ox-gall 
dropped into the ear, previously syringed with soap 
and water ; if from hardened wax, aether and opium, 
&c. ; bleed and purge, if necessary. 

Difficulty of Breathing, {Asthma.) — If from spas- 
modic asthma, bleed and blister ; if from inflammation, 
smoke stramonium or tobacco ; if from humid asthma, 
paregoric, oxymel of squills, &c. ; if from inflamma- 
tion of the lungs, bleed, blister, &c. 

Dry Bellyache, Devonshire Colic. — Fomentations 
of poppy heads constantly applied ; purgatives, clys- 
ters, opiates, dashing water on the patient's legs and 
thighs, &c. 

Earache. — If from inflammation, bleed, blister and 
purge ; if from abscess, promote suppuration ; if from 
ulcer, use balsam of tolu and ox-gall, or oil of turpen- 
tine ; if without apparent cause, introduce a piece of 
wool, dipped in aether or opium. 

Eruptions of the Skin. — In the eruptions of child- 
ren, give a little magnesia, according to the state of 
the bowels, and keep the children moderately warm, 
to prevent the rash from striking in. The warm bath, 
cleanliness, &c. The greater part of the rashes of 
children, if properly attended to, and not injudiciously 
repelled, are by no means dangerous. 



153 

Excoriation of Infants. — Wash two or three times 
a day with milk and water, lukewarm ; dry well, and 
sprinkle the parts with a little tutty or calamine powder. 

Excoriation of Nurses 1 Nipples. — Wash two or 
three times a day, with a weak solution of alum, rose- 
water, or weak brandy and water. 

Eructation. — Ginger tea, anniseed, caraways, &c. 
[See Indigestion. ,] 

Eyes, inflammation. — Leeches to the temples, if 
severe ; fomentation of poppy-heads ; open the bow- 
els ; cooling lotions ; wear a green shade. 

Faintings, Sfc. — Apply hartshorn or spirits of am- 
monia to the nostrils, and sprinkle the face with cold 
water ; allow plenty of air during the paroxysm. If 
it proceeds from debility, strengthen the system with 
tonics, &c. If it arises JVom loss of blood, place the 
patient in a recumbent position. 

Flux, (Dysentery.} — An emetic of tartarized anti- 
mony ; purge with castor oil, or linseed oil, and tinc- 
ture of rhubarb ; emollient clisters, opiates, &c. 

Giddiness. — Bleeding, or leeches to the temples, 
cupping, &c. ; cooling purgatives, as Epsom salts. 

Gravel. — Purge with castor oil ; after bleeding, if 
the fit be severe, use demulcent drinks, opiates, &c. ; 
bleed, if nothing prevent it, if necessary. Give solu- 
tion of potash, twenty to thirty drops, in a teacupful 
of broth ; soap pills, ten grains for a dose, twice a 
day, &c. % 

Gripes of Infants. — Castor oil, one ounce ; tinc- 
ture of rhubarb, two drachms; tincture of opium, 
twenty-five drops ; dilutent drinks, aperients. 

Green Sickness. — Nourishing diet ; moderate use 
of wine; exercise, without fatigue, particularly on 
horseback ; cheerful society ; an emetic ; gentle ape- 
rients of aloes, myrrh, and bitter timis ; gentle electric 
shocks, passed through the pubis, &c. 



154 THE GOOD SAMARITAN; OR, 

Headache. — Cooling medicines, as salts, nitre, &c. 

Heartburn. — A dose or two of rhubarb, from half 
an ounce to an ounce ; stomachic bitters ; wine or 
brandy, if from weakness ; if from bile, thirty drops 
of nitrous aether ; if from acidity, chalk or magnesia. 

Hysterics. — Bleed, if the patient be young ; apply 
stimulants to the nose ; rub the temples with aether ; 
bathe the feet ; dash cold water over the legs ; give 
musk, aether, opium, ammonia. 

Hydrophobia. — Early excision of the bitten part ; 
or to destroy it to the bottom, by means of caus- 
tics, &c. 

Hooping- Cough. — In mild attacks, apply leeches 
to the temples ; a blister to stomach, if breathing is 
difficult ; bathe the feet ; give gentle emetics, gentle 
laxatives, mucilaginous diluent drinks, an embroca- 
tion of opium and aether to the chest, two or three 
times a day ; frequent change of air, &c. 

Indigestion. — Magnesia and chalk, to correct acidi- 
ty; gentle laxatives, air, exercise, and temperance. 
Tonics, to restore the tone of the stomach, avoiding 
those habits and pursuits which have given rise to the 
disease, and which continue to aggravate it, &c. 

Itch.—- -Sulphur, mixed with hog's lard, is a well 
known specific for this troublesome and degrading 
companion. There are other cures for the itch, such 
as hellebore, diluted sulphuric acid, &c. 

Inflammations. — Regimen, relaxed position of the 
part, local bleeding, cupping, scarifying, and bleeding 
generally ; cooling lotions, cold poultices, &c. 

Jaundice. — Keep the bowels open with soap and 
aloes, or rhubarb, castor oil, calomel, purgative salts, 
&c. When the pain in the side is not great, an emetic 
may be given, warm bath, opiates, &c. 

Looseness, (Diarrh&a.) — Purge with rhubarb, give 
an emetic of ipecacuanha first ; decoction of barley, 



155 

rice, marsh mallows; mixture of chalk and water, 
opiates, &c. If from worms, worm medicines, &c. 

Loss of Appetite. — An emetic will remove it, if it 
be spontaneous. When the stomach is loaded with 
bile, elixir of vitriol and water, &c. 

Lumbago, (Sciatica.) — Vapour bath. Rub the part 
affected with oil of turpentine, of which also take 
twenty or thirty drops inwardly, two or three times a 
day ; balsam of copaiva, &c. 

Measles. — Abstinence from animal food ; patient 
kept moderately cool ; saline medicine, barley water, 
mild opiates, (syrup of poppies, &c.) to ease the 
cough ; inhaling the steam of hot water, opiates, &c. 
When diarrhoea at the end of the disease does not take 
place, a purge or two of calomel should be given, &c. 

Milk-Fever. — Get the child to take the breast, or 
get the milk drawn by other means ; give cooling 
opening medicines, small doses of nitre, &c. 

Nausea. — A gentle emetic, a few drops of the oil 
of vitriol in a glass of water, &c. In pregnant wo- 
men, a cup of tea or coffee should be taken before 
getting up ; camomile tea, &c. 

Piles. — Lenitive electuary, or cream of tartar and 
jalap, to keep the bowels open ; foment with the de- 
coctions of oak bark or galls, spermaceti ointment 
two ounces, powdered opium one drachm, to anoint. 
In pregnant women, who have the piles, the bowels 
must be attended to daily. 

Rickets. — Wholesome dry food ; roasted meat, 
eggs, port wine, good nursing, regular exercise, and 
pure air. When the child is too young to eat flesh 
meats, its diet ought to consist of milk, rice, millet, pearl 
barley, salop, arrowroot, semolina, with spices, &c. 

Saint Anthony's Fire. — No embrocations or lini- 
ments are good. Cooling medicines, cold lotions, 
dusting the part with flour, &c. 



156 the good Samaritan; or, 

Rheumatic Pains, chronic. — Camphor dissolved in 
ether, rubbed on ; also, externally and internally, oil 
of turpentine ; warm bath, flannel, &c. ; vapour bath, 
electricity. 

Ringworm. — Strong decoction of galls ; a poultice 
of the flowers of the ring-worm bush. 

Scarlet Fever. — Apartment clean and cool, light 
diet, no animal food, lemonade for common drink ; 
gentle aperients, more particularly towards the end 
of the eruption, with two or three grains of calomel, 
&c. An emetic is usually prescribed. 

Scalds and Burns. — Immerse the part immediately 
in cold water, and continue until the pain is gone. 

Spitting Blood. — Small doses of nitre, infusion of 
roses, logwood, &c. 

Scalded Head. — Shave the head close, wash with 
Spanish soap, and dress with tar ointment twice a 
day ; powder the head with charcoal dust, &c. 

Sprains. — Vinegar, ardent spirits, lees of wine ap- 
plied. Plunge limb in cold water, immediately after 
the accident ; leeches, liniment, bandages. 

Sore Throaty Quinsy. — Low diet, several leeches, 
purge, soap liniment, flannel, gargle with barley water 
and vinegar ; sage tea and vinegar, inhale steam, &c. 

Stings of Insects. — Opium and water, sugar of 
lead and water; also, apply olive oil, &c. Take a 
cooling purge, if inflammation run high, &c. 

Tetters, Herpes. — Ointments of white precipitate 
of the oxide of zinc, using, at the same time, Gou- 
lard's lotion ; tepid bathing, &c. A gentle aperient 
may be taken occasionally. A bath, saturated with 
sulphurate of potass, or a lotion of two drachms of the 
solution of potass, in a pint of water. 

Thrush of Infants. — Give a gentle emetic first ; 
afterwards, oystershell powder, to which a little mag- 
nesia may be added. Two or three grains of con 



157 

trayerva. If the bowels are too loose, rub inside of 
mouth with borax, honey. &c. 

Toothache. — Introduce cotton, dipped in oil of 
cloves, cajeput, nutmeg, a small pill of opium, cam- 
phor, &c. 

Warts. — Removed by a powder of verdigris and 
savine leaves, equal proportions ; removed also by 
thread, knives, scissors, &c. 

Whitlow. — Lotions of camphorated spirit ; a solu- 
tion of ammonia, cerate of lead, if ulceration. If 
suppuration ensue, open it early and freely. 

Wens. — By discutient plasters, excision, &c. 

Water-brash. — It is relieved by musk, sether, castor, 
ammonia, opium, chewing and smoking tobacco, &c. 

Cholera. — 1st. Give for an adult fifty drops of 
laudanum in a wine-glass of hot brandy and water, 
equal parts of each, and repeat it every fifteen mi- 
nutes, until four doses have been taken, so as to give 
in the whole two hundred drops : if thrown up, repeat 
the laudanum in a teaspoonfui of brandy. 2d. Apply 
bags of hot sand to every part of the body and limbs 
of the patient. Large woollen cloths, wrung out of 
very hot water, may be applied in the same way, 
provided they are kept from cooling. 3d. Make a 
poultice or paste of common mustard, mixed in the 
same way as for ordinary use. Apply this hot all 
over the surface of the bowels. 4th. Give an injec- 
tion made with a gill of starch, arrowroot, or gruel, 
with one teaspoonfui of laudanum in it. When these 
symptoms come on, the patient should omit the use 
of solid food, and take as little as possible of any 
thing into the stomach. A proper nourishment in 
this state, is arrow-root or rice water. For drink, 
small quantities of pure water or tea. The patient 
should keep in bed. If the bowels have not been 
freely emptied, an even teaspoonfui of powdered 



158 THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 

rhubarb may be given. This is to be followed by an 
injection every four hours, of half a pint of flaxseed 
tea, with twenty drops of laudanum in each. The 
surface of the bowels should be blistered. If the 
patient is much exhausted, a teaspoonful of tincture 
of cinnamon in half a wine-glassful of hot water may 
be given, once in half an hour, for three or four times. 

We would now ask the reader to compare the 
common medical treatment contained in this chap- 
ter, with that contained in the fifth chapter of this 
work ; and ask himself, which of the two modes of 
treatment appears the most likely to remove the 
complaints. For example, examine the treatment of 
Scarlet Fever, in the fifth chapter, and compare it 
with the treatment of the same complaint, in this ; 
and you will not wonder, that so many die under the 
regular practice, while so few die of that complaint, 
under the Thomsonian practice. 

Again, look at the treatment of Cholera, in this 
chapter, and compare it with the effects produced by 
a regular course of medicine, as exemplified in the 
treatment of Scarlet Fever ; and, I think, you will 
be at no loss to determine which mode of treatment 
would be the most likely to rescue you from the cold 
embrace of that terrible form of disease. What! two 
hundred drops of laudanum in half a pint of hot 
brandy and water, equal parts ! — Bags of hot sand 
applied to every part of the body ! — A mustard poul- 
tice laid over the whole surface of the bowels ! — to 
which, add an injection of starch and laudanum ! ! ! 
Oh, shade of ^Esculapius ! forgive us, if we err; but, 
for our own part, we would rather undergo the mild 
boiling and roasting effects of steam, cayenne, and lo- 
belia, than be stupefied with opium and brandy — and 
then broiled to death with hot sand and mustard ! ! ! 



APPENDIX. 



At the close of the first chapter of this work, we 
requested our readers to "see the Appendix ," think* 
ing that the latter part of the book would be the most 
proper place to present them with a description of the 
following poisons, as they are the most prominent 
articles of medicine now in daily use by the regular 
faculty. Indeed, we think it is but right, that those 
who are doomed to swallow such poisons, should be 
made acquainted with their effects upon the human 
system ; that they may not ignorantly injure them- 
selves, or their tender offspring. 

Antimony. — This metal is procured from mines 
in Hungary, Transylvania, Germany, France, and 
England. Tradition says, that Basil Valentine, 
a German monk, gave it to some hogs, which, after 
purging, it very much fattened ; and, thinking it 
might produce the same effect on man, gave it to his 
brother monks, who all died in the experiment; 
whence the name, antimony, is derived from anti- 
monk. 

" The antimonial metal," says Dr. Thacher, " is 
a medicine of the greatest power of any known sub- 
stance ; a quantity too minute to be sensible in the 
most delicate balance, is capable of producing violent 
effects, if taken dissolved, or in a soluble state." 

159 



160 APPENDIX. 

{Dispensatory, p. 392.) But notwithstanding its 
extraordinary powers, a vast amount of it is used as 
medicine ; particularly in the forms of James* Pow- 
ders, and emetic tartar. 

The baneful effects of antimony in its crude or 
metallic state, have not, to our recollection, been de- 
tailed by any author whose works we have perused, 
or had access to ; but those attending the exhibition 
of tartar emetic, the most common form of its admi- 
nistration, have more frequently been noticed. 

For children, emetic tartar is unsafe : " when great 
debility of the system is present, even a small dose 
has be«n known to prove fatal." "As an emetic, it 
is chiefly given in the beginning of fevers and febrile 
diseases ; but when great debility is present, and in 
the advanced stages of typhoid fever, its use is im- 
proper, and even sometimes fatal." " In larger doses, 
this salt is capable of acting as a violent poison." 
(Hooper's Dictionary, Art. "Antimonium Tartar- 
izatum") 

Dr. Robinson says, "Tartar emetic, as has been 
found after death, produces the most deleterious effects 
upon the stomach ; and yet is given to remove disease, 
and called an excellent remedy ; but is now denounced 
by those who are disposed to purge the Materia Me- 
dica; as may be seen in the Transactions of the 
Royal Society, for 1811-' 12." Tartar emetic, even 
externally applied, produces powerful effects. By its 
corrosive qualities it destroys warts, if applied to them 
in powder or dissolved in water. Another property 
which it also has, when rubbed on the skin, is that 
of producing a crop of pustules, very like to the small- 
pox ; and with this view it is used for rheumatism, 
white swelling, &c. 

" The preparations of antimony," says Orfila, 
" are often administered carelessly, because no danger 



APPENDIX. 161 

is thought to attend their use. Experience, however, 
proves that tartar emetic, if it does not excite vomit- 
ing, may produce death when given in the quantity 
of a few grains : instances, indeed, have occurred, in 
which an extreme prostration and debility have suc- 
ceeded the administration of a single grain of this 
poison, when it has occasioned no evacuation. Some- 
times, on the contrary, and particularly in infants, it 
excites vomiting so copious and painful, as to require 
an immediate arrest." " Mixed with lard and other 
substances," says the same author, " and applied as 
an irritant to the surface of the body, tartar may pro- 
duce poisoning and death !" 

To show the great uncertainty and danger attend- 
ing the employment, not only of antimony, but of all 
other metallic medicines, we will introduce, before 
leaving this subject, the following quotation from 
Coxe's Dispensatory, 3d ed. p. 171 : "All the me- 
tallic preparations are uncertain, as it entirely depends 
on the state of the stomach, whether they have no 
action at all, or operate with dangerous violence." 

Arsenic — This destructive metal exists in great 
abundance in the mineral kingdom, combined with 
almost all the other metals. It is found principally in 
Italy, Hungary, Germany, and the United States. In 
the town of Warwick, New York, there is a huge 
vein of this metal in a mountain range, sufficient, it 
is said by a traveller, to poison the whole world. It 
exists here in that condition or state of combination, 
termed arsenical pyrites, or arsenical iron. (See 
Hooper's Dictionary, Art "Arsenic") 

Arsenic is used in various arts, as well as in medi- 
cine, being prepared in a variety of different ways. 
The presence of arsenic in iron, in a very small pro- 
portion, has a very pernicious effect, rendering the 
iron brittle when at a red heat. The preparation of 
11 



162 APPENDIX. 

arsenic which most frequently proves destructive to 
human life, is denominated, in the modern nomen- 
clature, arsenious acid. 

Arseniotts Acid, also called white arsenic, and by 
the chymists, oxide of arsenic, but irfore commonly 
known by the name of ratsbane, acts upon the human 
system as a deadly poison, in quantities so minute as 
to be insensible to the taste when diffused in water 
or other vehicles, by which it has often been given 
with criminal intentions and most fatal effects. 

Arsenic has long been used externally in the treat- 
ment of cancerous affections, in the form of plasters 
and powder ; and in either way is a burning, pungent 
caustic, possessing very dangerous powers. " Arse- 
nic," says Thacher, " has long been known to be the 
basis of the celebrated cancer powder. It has been 
sprinkled in substance upon the ulcer ; but this me- 
thod of using it is excessively painful and extremely 
dangerous ; fatal effects have been produced by its 
absorption. This fact I have known in several in- 
stances, when Davidson's agents, and others, have 
undertaken to draw out cancers, when the patient 
would absorb enough of this poison, which, seating 
upon the lungs, caused death by consumption, in the 
course of one year." 

Arsenic has been much used in this country, in 
agues or intermittent fevers, under the name of Fow- 
ler's Solution, or Ague Drops ; and also, according 
to the testimony of Dr. Duncan, in Great Britain. 
And " though the most violent of mineral poisons, 
arsenic, according to Murry, equals, when properly 
administered, the first medicines in the class of to- 
nics" " Such are the powers of this medicine, that 
two grains of it are often sufficient to cure an inter- 
mittent that has continued for weeks." {Thacher,') 
But let the intolerable morbid feelings ; the shocking 



APPENDIX. 16$ 

depression of spirits ; the more or less serious affec- 
tions of the lungs ; and the many other aches and 
pains, tell at what expense such cures have been 
often purchased. 

So deadly is the effect of arsenic, that " in mines 
it causes the destruction of numbers who explore 
them ;" and " the fumes are so deleterious to the 
lungs, that the artist ought to be on his guard to 
prevent their inhalation by the mouth; for if they be 
mixed and swallowed with the saliva, effects will take 
place similar to those which follow its introduction 
into the stomach, in its saline or solid state ; namely, 
a sensation of a piercing, gnawing, and burning kind, 
accompanied with an acute pain in the stomach and 
intestines, which are violently contorted ; convulsive 
vomiting; insatiable thirst, from the parched and 
rough state of the tongue and throat. Hiccup, pal- 
pitation of the heart, and a deadly oppression of the 
breast, succeed next ; the matter ejected by the mouth 
as well as the stools, exhibiting a black, fetid, and 
putrid appearance ; at length, with the mortification 
of the bowels, the pain subsides, and death terminates 
the sufferings of the patient." 

" Arsenious sulphurets," says Coxe, " are much 
used by painters, but these advantages are not able to 
compensate for its bad effects." "The property 
which it possesses of being soluble in water, increases 
and facilitates its destructive power ; and it ought to 
be proscribed in commerce, by the strict law which 
prohibits the sale of poisons to unknown persons. 
Arsenious acid is every day the instrument by which 
victims are sacrificed, either by the hand of wicked- 
ness or imprudence. It is often mistaken for sugar ; 
and these mistakes are attended with the most dread- 
ful consequences. The symptoms which characterize 
this poison are, a great constriction of the throat ; the 



164 APPENDIX. 

teeth set on edge ; and the mouth strongly heated ; 
an involuntary spitting, with extreme pains in the 
stomach, vomiting of glareous and bloody matter, 
with cold sweats and convulsions. 

" On dissection, the stomach and bowels are found 
to be inflamed, gangrenous, eroded, and the blood is 
fluid. Soon after death, livid spots appear on the 
surface of the body, the nails become blue, and often 
fall off along with the hair, the epidermis separates, 
and the whole body becomes speedily putrid. When 
the quantity is so very small as not to prove fatal, 
tremors, palsies, and lingering hectics succeed." 

" The symptoms produced by a dangerous dose of 
arsenic," says Dr. Black, " begin to appear in a 
quarter of an hour, or not much longer, after it is 
taken. First, sickness and great distress at stomach, 
soon followed by thirst, and burning heat in the 
bowels. Then come on violent vomiting and severe 
colic pains, and excessive and painful purging. This 
brings on faintings, with cold sweats, and other signs 
of great debility. To this succeed painful cramps, and 
contractions of the legs and thighs, and extreme 
weakness, and death." " Similar results," adds Dr. 
Akerly, "have followed the incautious sprinkling 
of scirrous ulcers with powdered arsenic, or the appli- 
cation of arsenical plasters." 

Orfila, in his work on poisons, describes the 
symptoms which follow the taking of this powerful 
poison somewhat more in detail ; though it is not to 
be understood that the whole of them are to be met 
with at the same time, in the same subject. His 
account is as follows : " An austere taste in the 
mouth; frequent ptyalism ,• continued spitting ; con- 
striction of the pharynx and oesophagus ; teeth set 
on edge ; hiccups ; nausea ; vomiting of brown or 
bloody matter ; anxiety ; frequent fainting fits ; burn- 



APPENDIX. 165 

ing heat at theprsecordia >• inflammation of the lips, 
tongue, palate, throat, stomach; acute pain of sto- 
mach, rendering the mildest drinks intolerable ; black 
stools of an indescribable fetor; pulse frequent, op- 
pressed, and irregular, sometimes slow and unequal ; 
palpitation of the heart; syncope; inextinguishable 
thirst; burning sensation over the whole body, re- 
sembling a consuming fire ; at times an icy coldness ; 
difficult respiration; cold sweats; scanty urine, of a 
red or bloody appearance ; altered expression of coun- 
tenance ; a livid circle round the eyelids, swelling and 
itching of the whole body, which becomes covered 
with livid spots, or with a miliary eruption ; prostra- 
tion of strength ; loss of feeling, especially in the 
hands and feet; delirium, convulsions, sometimes 
accompanied with an insupportable priapism; loss 
of hair, separation of the epidermis ; horrible convul- 
sions, and death I" 

" Many attempts have been made to introduce ar- 
senic into medical practice ; but as it is known to be 
one of the most violent poisons, it is probable that the 
fear of its bad effects may deprive society of the 
advantages it might afford in this way." Experience 
has, however, taught us that these " attempts" have 
been but too successful in introducing this demoniac 
article into medicine ; and many, as might rationally 
have been anticipated, have fallen victims to this de- 
structive mineral ; nay, to that reprehensible, incon- 
sistent, and diabolical infatuation which has led 
physicians to the erroneous and life-destroying con- 
clusion, that any substance known to be a potent 
poison, must likewise be a powerful medicine. It 
seems impossible that a rational being, in his sober 
senses, could, by any process of reasoning, arrive at 
such a fatal conclusion; and the most charitable 
apology that can be offered for this destructive para- 



166 APPENDIX. 

dox is, that physicians have adopted a wrong or 
perverse theory. 

Copper — Cuprum; so named from the Island of 
Cyprus, whence it was formerly brought. This metal 
abounds in considerable quantity ; and is found in 
the greatest abundance in England, Sweden, Spain, 
and North and South America. It is used in the 
manufacture of a variety of cooking utensils; and, 
from its poisonous quality, has often been known 
to produce death. " Great care," says Thacher, 
'* ought to be talcen that acid liquors, or even water 
designed for internal use, be not suffered to stand 
long in vessels made of copper ; otherwise they will 
dissolve so much of it, as will give them very dan- 
gerous properties." 

Brass, which is an alloy of copper and zinc, is 
also liable, though in a less degree, to the same ob- 
jection as copper, and is much employed in the 
manufacture of cooking utensils. The best brass is 
composed of four parts of copper and one of zinc. 

The effects of copper " when taken into the sto- 
mach, are highly deleterious and often fatal. It 
particularly affects the primae vi«, exciting excessive 
nausea, vomiting, colic pains, and purging, sometimes 
of blood, or, though more rarely, obstinate constipa- 
tion. It also produces agitation of the mind, head- 
ache, vertigo, delirium ; renders the pulse small and 
weak, the countenance pale, arid causes fainting, 
convulsions, paralysis, and apoplexy. "-*-(Thacher.) 

" Verdigris, and other preparations of copper, act 
as virulent poisons, when introduced in very small 
quantities into the stomachs of animals. A few grains 
are sufficient for this effect. Death is commonly 
preceded by very decided nervous disorders, such as 
convulsive movements, tetanus, general insensibility, 
or a palsy of the lower extremities." — (Hooper.) 



APPENDIX. 167 

"But although copper be thus dangerous, some 
preparations of it are in certain cases used with 
great advantage, both internally and externally." 
(Thncher.) Internally, it is used as a tonic, and 
externally, as a caustic. 

Mercury — Quicksilver. This metal, or the ores 
which contain it, abounds most plentifully in China, 
Hungary, Spain, and South America ; and of all the 
metals employed as medicine, is the one most exten- 
sively used ; " there being scarcely a disease against 
which some of its preparations are not exhibited." 

Mercury is frequently found in the earth in a fluid 
form, sometimes so pure as not to need refining, 
when it is called virgin quicksilver ; but more often 
it is mixed with other substances, in the form of ore. 
The most usual state in which it exists in mines, is 
a sulphureous ore of a red colour, called native cin- 
nabar. " The people who work in the quicksilver 
mines soon die ; when first affected they are seized 
with tremors, after which salivation comes on, their 
teeth drop out, and pains of the whole body, particu- 
larly of the bones, seize them." 

Quicksilver was originally used in the treatment 
of eruptive diseases ; and it is owing to its success 
in those complaints that it was first employed in the 
venereal disease. " In the times immediately following 
this disease, practitioners only attempted to employ 
this remedy with timorous caution, so that of several 
of their formulas, mercury scarcely composed a fourth 
part, and few cures were effected. On the other hand, 
empirics who noticed the little efficacy of these small 
doses, ran into the opposite extreme, and exhibited 
mercury in such large quantities, and with such little 
care, that most of their patients became suddenly 
attacked with the most violent salivations, attended 
with dangerous consequences. From these two very 



168 APPENDIX. 

opposite modes of practice, there originated such un- 
certainty respecting what could be expected from 
mercury, and such fears of the consequences which 
might result from its employment, that every plan 
was eagerly adopted which offered the least chance 
of cure without having recourse to this mineral. 

"A medicine, however, so powerful, and whose 
salutary effects were seen by attentive practitioners, 
amid all its inconveniences, could not sink into 
oblivion. After efforts had been made to discover a 
substitute for it, and it was seen how little confidence 
those means deserved on which the highest praises 
had been lavished, the attempts to discover its utility 
were renewed. A medium was pursued, between the 
too timid methods of those physicians who had first 
administered it, and the inconsiderate boldness of 
the empirics. Thus the causes from which both 
parties failed were avoided ; the character of the 
medicine was revived in a more durable way, and 
from this period its reputation has always been 
maintained. 

" It was about this epoch that mercury began to be 
internally given : hitherto it had only been externally 
employed, which was done in three manners. The 
first was in the form of liniment, or ointment; the 
second, as a plaster ; and the third, as a fumigation. 
Of the three methods just described, only the first is 
at present much in use, and even this is very much 
altered. Mercurial plasters are now only used as 
topical discutient applications to tumours and indura- 
tions. Fumigations, as anciently managed, were liable 
to many objections, particularly from its not being 
possible to regulate the quantity of mercury to be 
used, and from the effect of the vapour on the organs 
of respiration, frequently occasioning trembling, pal- 
sies, &c. Frictions with ointment have always been 



APPENDIX. 169 

regarded as the most efficacious mode of administer- 
ing mercury." — {Hooper s Dictionary.) 

It may be observed, however, that the submurias 
hydrargyra, or calomel, and the pilula hydrargyra, 
or blue pill, are the preparations of quicksilver in 
most common use at the present time. 

Mercury, as an article of medicine, is probably more 
extensively used than almost any other article of the 
Materia Medica ; and hence mankind have suffered 
more from its destructive powers, than from all 
the other poisonous drugs that have disgraced the 
science. In bilious and other fevers, which have 
so universally and fatally prevailed in the United 
States, calomel has been regarded as almost the only 
evacuant of the bowels to be depended upon ; and by 
most practitioners it has been considered necessary in 
malignant cases of fever, and in many other obstinate 
complaints, to administer a quantity sufficient to 
produce salivation. And when it is wished to procure 
this loathsome discharge very speedily, the direful 
remedy is applied externally, in the form of mercurial 
ointment, at the same time that it is administered 
internally, in the form either of calomel or pills. The 
disastrous effects of this " incendiary" practice, have 
left fearful monuments of its destructive character, in 
every city, town, village, and hamlet in the United 
States ; and, in fact, in every civilized country where 
fashion and folly have been allowed to triumph over 
the dictates of common sense, and mercurial medi- 
cines permitted to assume the place of the more 
salutary productions of the life-preserving vegetable 
kingdom. 

So extensively, indeed, have mercurial medicines 
spread their ravages amongst mankind, that it has 
become an important " part of the physician's study, 
to learn to designate and remove the maladies which 



170 APPENDIX. 

are caused by them."* Mercury is the most general 
evacuant belonging to the Materia Medica ; whilst its 
different preparations are made to answer no less than 
ten different indications in the treatment of disease. 
And notwithstanding the almost universal employ- 
ment of mercury, in the treatment of nearly or quite 
every disease, " it is to be regretted," says the work 
just quoted, " that for the want of a more precise 
knowledge of the peculiar properties of mercury, and 
the modes of its operation, writers have not yet as- 
signed to it an appropriate place among the curatives 
of disease, nor agreed upon such general principles 
for its administration as will enable the best judgment 
to use, without sometimes abusing it; and," con- 
tinues the same writer, " is not mercury by many 
rather given as a specific, or for symptoms of disease 
for which they know not what to give ?" 

" Practitioners," says Dr. Hamilton, "prescribe, 
on every trifling occasion, calomel or the blue pill : 
thus, calomel is now almost the universal opening 
medicine recommended for infants and children ; and 
a course of the blue pill is advised, without any dis- 
crimination, for the cure of trifling irregularities of 
the digestion in grown persons." To show the wretch- 
ed consequences of this indiscriminate employment 
of mercury, we need only refer to Hooper's Diction- 
ary. " Many courses of mercury," says he, " would 
kill the patient if the medicine were only given inter- 
nally, because it proves hurtful to the stomach and 
intestines when given in any form, or joined to the 
greatest correctors." It " often produces pains like 
those of rheumatism, and nodes of a scrofulous na- 
ture ;" " and occasionally attacks the bowels, and 

♦Preface to the American edition of Dr. Hamilton's 
Observations on the Use and Abuse of Mercurial Medicines, 
by Ansel W. Ives, M. D. 



APPENDIX. 171 

causes violent purging, even of blood." " At other 
times, it is suddenly determined to. the mouth, and 
produces inflammation, ulceration, and an excessive 
flow of saliva.' ' The teeth also become loose, and 
mortification sometimes succeeds, and terminates in 
the destruction of the gums, lips, cheeks, &c. 

In addition to these dreadful local affections, mer- 
cury often produces a more general effect, which is 
termed the mercurial disease. 

" It is characterized by great depression of strength ; 
a sense of anxiety about the praecordia ; irregular 
action about the heart ; frequent sighing ; trembling, 
partial or universal ; a small, quick, and sometimes 
intermitting pulse ; occasional vomiting ; a pale, con- 
tracted countenance; a sense of coldness; but the 
tongue is seldom furred, and neither the natural nor 
vital functions are much disturbed." " In this state, 
a violent or sudden exertion of muscular power, will 
sometimes prove fatal." 

It may possibly be thought that we are devoting 
too much time to the consideration of this single ar- 
ticle ; but when we take only a hasty survey of the 
general and immense extent of its horrible desola- 
tions, we are ready to think a volume too small for 
a faithful portraiture of the heart-sickening picture. 
The subject of intemperance has enlisted the ener- 
gies of hundreds, nay, thousands, who have portrayed 
in glowing colours the disastrous effects of this vora- 
cious monster, preying upon the vitals of the human 
race : opposed, too, as it is, by the moral sense of the 
people, the dogmas of physicians, and the precepts 
of the gospel. But the career of calomel, instead of 
being opposed by any of those barriers which resist 
the progress of immorality, is encouraged by a class 
of men whose authority is only equalled by the sub- 
serviency of the people to submit to their dictates. 



172 APPENDIX, 

The propriety of comparing the effects of mercury 
with those of intemperance, very probably may excite 
some emotions in the minds of many who have not 
given the subject a careful consideration ; but we only 
request of these to reflect that calomel is prescribed 
in some form or other in almost every family which 
adheres to the poisonous practice of medicine ; and 
although an individual may be subjected to its deadly 
effects but once in his life, he may never after be free 
from its morbid influence. Indeed we do not doubt 
that the protracted, insupportable languor, and inde- 
scribable feelings of despondency which often succeed 
a course of mercury, have driven many an individual 
to intemperance, if not to suicide, for that relief which 
may be prized higher than life. We are not dealing 
in fables, nor fanciful tales of romance ; our subject 
is one in which the whole civilized world has a deep 
interest, and we feel it to be a serious duty to do all 
in our power to eradicate those prejudices which, 
through ignorance, have been implanted in the hu- 
man heart. 

The depredations which mercury has committed 
upon health and life since its first introduction into 
practice, demand that it should be placed in its native 
garb before the eyes of the world. Too much suf- 
fering and misery, and waste of human life, have 
resulted from the use of calomel, for those who are 
acquainted with its real character to remain idle spec- 
tators of its mighty march ; walking with gigantic 
strength through the world, and sweeping, with its 
baneful breath, thousands and tens of thousands from 
the stage of usefulness, and the great theatre of life ! 

" Among the numerous poisons," says Dr. Hamil- 
ton, " which have been used for the cure or allevia- 
tion of diseases, there are few which possess more 
active, and, of course, more dangerous powers, than 



APPENDIX. 1721 

mercury. Even the simplest and mildest forms of 
that mineral exert a most extensive influence over the 
human frame ; and many of its chymical preparations 
are so deleterious, that in the smallest doses they 
speedily destroy life/' " When the effects of mercury 
Upon the human body are accurately investigated and 
duly considered, it cannot fail to appear, that infi- 
nite injury must accrue from its use in many cases." 
— (Hamilton, pages 1. 3.) 

In treating of the effects of mercury, Dr. Hamil- 
ton observes : — " Preparations of mercury, exhibited 
either internally or externally for any length of time, 
increase in general the action of the heart and arte- 
ries, and produce salivation, followed by emaciation 
and debility, with an extremely irritable state of the 
whole system. 

" These effects of mercury are expressly mentioned, 
or virtually admitted, by every author, ancient or 
modern, who has directed its use ; and it must appear 
very extraordinary, that their full influence should 
have been hitherto misunderstood, or at least not suf- 
ficiently regarded." 

" The first effect enumerated, is an increased action 
of the heart and arteries, which is attended with the 
most obvious of the circumstances which arise from 
inflammation. Blood drawn from the arm of the 
most delicate and debilitated individual, subjected to 
a course of mercurial medicines, exhibits the same 
buffy crust with blood drawn from a person labouring 
under pleurisy." — (Hamilton, pages 4, 5, 6.) 

" There is reason to believe that the inflammatory 
diathesis induced by mercury may continue for a 
very considerable length of time after the mercury has 
been laid aside, and without any manifest signs. 
When individuals in this state are subjected to acci- 
dental exposure to cold, or indulge in irregularity of 



174 APPENDIX. 

living, a violent and anomalous indisposition tak^s 
place, which is apt to terminate fatally, or to occasion 
a broken state of health." 

" Salivation, or an excessive and unusual flow of 
saliva, in general follows the increased action of the 
heart and arteries, and is preceded by a certain metal- 
lic taste in the mouth, and is attended with- a peculiar 
odour of the breath, different from what is ever per- 
ceived in any natural state of disease." " In some 
cases, besides the ordinary ulceration of the gums, 
and loosening and final separation of the teeth, the 
tongue, moveable palate, &c, swell and ulcerate to a 
frightful degree."— -{Hamilton, pages 10, IK) 

"Delicate individuals, especially females, generally 
experience, after a course of mercury, various modi- 
fications of disordered feelings, communicating the 
idea- of imaginary diseases, which unfit them for 
the duties of life, and render existence a burden. 
Among the anomalous complaints arising from this 
cause, may be enumerated, impaired or capricious 
appetite for food, with all the ordinary symptoms of 
indigestion, particularly retchings in the morning, 
and flatulency, disturbed sleep, with frightful dreams; 
impaired or depraved vision ; frequent aches and pains 
in different parts of the body ; occasionally such sud- 
den failure of strength, as if just dying, and at other 
times violent palpitations of the heart, accompanied 
with difficulty of breathing. Along with all these 
complaints, there is such a wretchedness of look, 
with such a disposition to brood over their miserable 
feelings, that it is extremely difficult to persuade the 
relations or attendants of the patient that there is no 
serious indisposition." 

Dr. Falconer says, " that among other ill effects, 
(of mercury,) it tends to produce tremors and paraly- 
sis, and not unfrequently incurable mania, I have 



APPENDIX* 175 

myself seen repeatedly, from this cause, a kind of ap- 
proximation to these maladies, that imbittered life to 
such a degree, with a shocking depression of spirits, 
and other nervous agitations with which it was accom- 
panied, as to make it more than commonly probable, 
that many of the suicides which disgrace our country, 
were occasioned by the intolerable feelings that result 
from such a state of the nervous system." Dr. Ha- 
milton adds, "to the truth of these remarks every 
unprejudiced physician who has been in extensive 
practice must bear testimony."— ^(Hamilton, pages 
13, 14, 15.) 

It is also worthy of particular notice, that the dis- 
astrous effects of mercury do not depend upon the 
quantity taken ; " it is notorious that the very smallest 
quantities of mercury have suddenly proved injurious. 
Thus, in a lady who had had such small doses of the 
blue pill, combined with opium, for three nights suc- 
cessively, that the whole quantity amounted to no 
more than five grains of the mass, salivation began on 
the fifth day, and, notwithstanding every attention, 
the gums became swelled to an enormous degree, 
bleeding ulcers of the mouth and fauces took place, 
and such extensive irritability and debility followed, 
that for nearly a whole month her life was in the ut- 
most jeopardy. Every practitioner must have met 
with similar cases. 

" Another common consequence of a very small 
dose of mercury is an excessive bowel complaint. 
In many individuals, a permanent irritability of the 
stomach and intestinal canal has followed the acci- 
dental exhibition of a few grains of calomel." 

"Dr. Falconer mentions, that he once saw a 
dropsy of the breast produced by the use of a mercurial 
remedy for a redness in the face, which it effectually 
removed, but instantly produced a dropsy of the 



176 APPENDIX. 

chest, terminating in death. Dr. BlackalL has re- 
corded similar cases." — {Hamilton, pages 20, 21. 

Dr. Hamilton also records one case, and Dr. Ives 
another, which "seem to prove, that mercury may 
remain inert for a considerable time in the habit, and 
afterwards, by some inexplicable circumstance, may 
become active." (p. 21.) We have also seen at least 
one similar case. And that it does remain in the 
systems of most or all persons whose constitutions 
have only been slightly affected by it, without breaking 
forth in its peculiar and virulent form, can be attested 
by almost every individual who has undergone the 
process of salivation. Such persons are commonly 
premonished of stormy weather, by the pains " like 
those of rheumatism," or, as often expressed, " pains 
in the bones," and soreness of the flesh. In some, 
the glands of the mouth and the throat become 
swelled, upon every exposure to wet or cold. 

It may be thought, perhaps, that enough evidence 
has been adduced from the writings of those whose 
profession it is to use the poisonous preparations of 
mercury, to satisfy the most partial, that its use ought 
not to be admitted as a medicine ; but as the prejudice 
in its favour is so deep-rooted and strong, and its de- 
structive consequences so general and terrible, we can- 
not acquit ourselves without selecting something more 
from the great mass of testimony to be met with at 
every step of our inquiries upon the important sub- 
ject 

Dr. Hamilton, in speaking of persons who appeal 
to their own experience as a direct proof „ of the great 
utility of calomel, in certain cases, remarks : " But if 
those persons could attend impartially to the effects 
of that medicine, they would find that its immediate 
operation is severe, and that it is followed for some 
time by uncomfortable feelings, and by an unusual 



APPENDIX, 177 

■susceptibility of derangement of the stom&ch and 
bowels. — {Hamilton, p. 79.) 

Again ; " It disorders the digestive powers of the sto- 
mach ; and in debilitated persons, the frequent employ- 
ment of it sinks the strength and provokes hemorrhoids. 

"From what has been stated in the preceding 
pages, respecting the injurious effects of all the pre- 
parations of mercury, and especially of calomel, upon 
some constitutions, and the impossibility of distin- 
guishing those individuals to whom that mineral, in 
every form, is apt to prove noxious, it must be evident 
that no physician can calculate, with any degree of 
certainty, on the safe operation of mercurial purga- 
tives ; and no preparation of mercury can be admi- 
nistered without the risk of some consequences en- 
suing, which could neither be intended nor expected, 
—(Hamilton, pages 105, 106, 107.) 

Were these facts less familiar to us than they are, 
we might pause, after quoting sentiments such as the 
foregoing, to indulge in those feelings of astonish- 
ment, which must involuntarily force themselves upon 
the mind of him who meets with them for the. first 
time. But we are so much accustomed to the most 
glaring inconsistencies in most matters relative to me- 
dicine, that we long since ceased to wonder at the 
contradictions of theory and practice. The reader 
must recollect that our quotations are from authors 
who themselves use the article they condemn. 

But we are not done yet. We must beg a little 
longer indulgence, whilst we introduce a few more 
quotations, touching this important subject. In an 
Appendix to the work of Dr. Hamilton, we find 
some remarks to our purpose, written by Dr. A. W. 
Ives, a respectable practitioner of New York. 

" It is true," says Dr. Ives, * that those who have 
most zealously recommended this medicine, have not 
12 



178 APPENDIX. 

denied the danger and uncertainty of its operation ; 
still they appear rather to have laboured to give it the 
character of a specific, than to establish general prin- 
ciples which would reconcile the discrepancy of their 
theory and practice. * Could a line be drawn,' says 
Dr. Warren, * between the disease in which it is 
prejudicial, and those in which it is advantageous ; 
and could the mode of administration be accurately 
prescribed, much of that mischief which has originated 
from this most active class of medicines might be avoid- 
ed, and many a constitution saved from ruin/ But this 
is a knowledge which we can never hope to attain, 
and, even if it were attainable, what would be the 
avail ] There is a diversity in the character of the 
same diseases, arising from a difference in the cir- 
cumstances or condition of the patients, which forbids 
the expectation that the science of medicine will be 
ever so perfected, and the labours of the physician so 
simplified, that a medicine can be safely prescribed for 
a name. It will continue to be the province of the 
physician to establish general principles from facts, 
and to mete out from these such particulars as may 
be suitable to the multifarious character and symptoms 
of disease ; and until some general principles shall 
be settled for the better regulation of the mercurial 
practice in fevers, however extensive and popular it 
may be, it will continue to be empirical.' , — {Hamil- 
ton, p. 192.) 

Dr. Ives remarks, that there is the closest analogy in 
the operation of animal poison and mercury : " Both," 
says he, " so far contaminate the circulating fluids as 
to keep up a permanent excitement for a considerable 
length of time; for as their properties can be de- 
stroyed by no antidote, their effects will continue till 
they are carried out of the system by its emunctories.' , 
(p. 196.) "Nor does mercury, as has often been 



APPENDTX. 179 

contended, possess the properties of a tonic,- so far 
from increasing the tone of the muscular fibre, or the 
excitability of the nervous system, it diminishes both, 
in a direct ratio to the irritation which it excites." 
(p. 204.) And "it is yet a question of dispute, 
whether more lives have been prolonged by a timely 
salivation, than have been lost by the unsuccessful 
use of mercury, to the exclusion of other means." 
(p. 208.) 

Dr. Barnwell, after describing the effects of mer- 
cury, exhibited in the first stages of inflammation of 
the liver, says, " these are the effects, which we have 
seen invariably take place, from the abuse of mercury, 
in the early stages of disease ; so that we are not 
more certainly convinced of the poisonous effects of 
arsenic, than of those mercurials given in the acute 
stages of this disease." The testimony of Dr. Reece 
is also very strong against the use of mercury. " We 
know not," says he, "whether we have most reason to 
hail the discovery of mercury as a blessing, or regard it 
as a curse ; since the diseases it entails are as nume- 
rous as those which it cures. Our best informed dentists 
declare that they can clearly witness the progress of 
the use of mercury, in the increasing diseases and 
decay of the teeth. There are serious objections, also, 
to other articles of the metallic world ; antimony, iron. 
and arsenic, are dangerous remedies in the hands of 
the ignorant ; and mankind, perhaps, in the aggregate, 
would be benefited by their expulsion from medical 
practice." 

If any should inquire why mercury is still used in 
medical practice, when its direful effects are so well 
known, the answer must be sought from several 
sources. " The facility," says Dr. Hamilton, " with 
which calomel can be exhibited to patients who are 
reluctant to take whatever has the semblance of a 



180 APPENDIX. 

drug, is probably the chief motive for this unfortunate 
prejudice in favour of so hazardous a remedy;" and 
this he very justly reprobates as a sacrifice of " con- 
science to convenience." (p. 111.) And Dr. Ives 
observes, " there is no inconsistency so extravagant 
that it cannot be supported by precedent, and no hy- 
pothesis so absurd, that it cannot be defended by 
books." It may also be added, that as the study of 
books is more easy to most men than the investiga- 
tion of nature, practitioners have generally been 
willing to practise under the protection of some 
great name, rather than attempt to reform the abuses 
of medicine. 

" Had the injurious effects of calomel been hid from 
the rest of the profession, and known only to the 
author," says Dr. Hamilton, " some apology might 
be offered for the pertinacity with which that medicine 
is still prescribed ; but so far is this from being true, 
that it may be confidently asserted, that no medical 
man of competent knowledge and observation would 
administer calomel as a purgative, in a hundred in- 
stances, without being convinced of its injurious 
tendency. Of this, innumerable proofs could be 
cited." (p. 109.) And " it cannot be a want of defer- 
ence to the distinguished advocates of the mercurial 
practice, to distrust the soundness of their deductions, 
when they are not only opposed by the acknowledged 
principles of medical philosophy, but by the judg- 
ment of such men as Robert Jackson and Dr. 
Li sii. To these might be added numbers of the 
most celebrated physicians of England, France, and 
America, all of whom, from clinical observation, have 
decided against the practice of resting the issue of 
febrile diseases on the constitutional operations of 
mercury." {Hamilton, Appendix, pp. 191, 192.) 

Those who have made themselves acquainted with 



APPENDIX. 181 

the desolating consequences resulting from the use 
of mercury, will not wonder that so much space has 
been allotted to its consideration. Men of the greatest 
experience have devoted much time and attention to 
its consideration ; the chief of whom are Pierson, 
Mathias, Trotter, Carmichael, and Hamilton, 
whom we have so often quoted, and whose experience 
and observation have enabled him to make a correct 
estimate of the dangerous powers of mercury. He, 
however, supposes that, "notwithstanding all the ha- 
zards resulting from the use of mercury, there can be 
no doubt that it has certain medicinal virtues, the 
most remarkable of which is the power of curing the 
diseases occasioned by the syphilitic virus." 

In the venereal disease, he thinks this is the only 
remedy which can with certainty be depended upon ; 
but this sentiment can only be tolerated on "the 
principle of necessity," growing out of the circum- 
stances by which he was surrounded. He knew of 
" no other equally efficacious medicine." Fortunately, 
however, for the world, medicines are now known 
which are not only far more efficacious than mercury 
in venereal complaints, but in all others ; besides be- 
ing at the same time free from all risk and danger. 

Lead — Plumbum. This metal is found in almost 
all countries ; and is particularly abundant in the 
western and north-western parts of the United States. 
It is but seldom used as an internal remedy ; but it is 
often applied externally to inflamed surfaces, wounds, 
scrofulous sores, and inflamed eyes. Internally it is 
employed " in some extreme cases of hemorrhagy 
from the lungs and bowels, and uterus," as a styptic 
or astringent ; but, owing to its poisonous qualities, it 
is exhibited in very small doses, and that but seldom 
by prudent practitioners. All the preparations of lead 
are deadly poisons. 



182 APPENDIX. 

/ 

Lead is often used for sweetening cider or wines 
which have become sour ; but this is a very repre- 
hensible practice, and is only resorted to by un- 
principled dealers in the article, for motives of 
pecuniary gain. The effect of drinking cider or 
wine, impregnated with any preparation of lead, is 
the same as those arising from the taking of it any 
other way. 

" The colic of painters, and that formerly prevalent 
in certain counties of England, from the lead used in 
cider presses, show the very deleterious operation 
of this metal, when habitually introduced into the 
system in the minutest quantities at a time. Con- 
traction of the thumbs, paralysis of the hands, or 
even of the whole extremities, have not unfrequently 
supervened." 

The symptoms of poisoning from lead are thus 
graphically described in the Book of Health : " Con- 
striction in the throat, pain in the stomach, obstinate, 
painful, and frequently bloody vomiting." Dr. Thach- 
eb, in his Dispensatory, says " its effects on the body 
are emaciation, violent colics, paralysis, tremors, and 
contractions of the limbs ; as they generally come on 
gradually, the cause is sometimes overlooked until it 
be too late. Poisoning from lead is occasioned, either 
from liquors becoming impregnated with it, by being 
improperly kept in vessels lined with that metal, or to 
which lead has been criminally added to correct its 
acidity ; or among manufacturers, who work much 
with lead, as painters and plumbers, and who are not 
sufficiently attentive to avoid swallowing it." 

" A dreadful disease," says Dr. Thomas, " of a 
similar nature with the colic under consideration, 
(colica pictonum, or dry bellyache) and caused by 
the destructive fumes of melted lead, is known to be 
very prevalent among those who are employed in. 



APPENDIX. 183 

smelting or preparing this metal, and is said to attack 
even those who live near the furnaces." 

Speaking of the acetate or sugar of lead, Dr. 
Thacher says, "Like the other preparations of lead, 
this is a violent poison." " The internal use of it, 
notwithstanding the encomiums some have been rash 
enough to bestow upon it, is entirely to be rejected." 

The subcarbonate of lead, or white lead, " is some- 
times employed medicinally, in form of powder or 
ointment, to children whose skin is fretted. It should, 
however, be cautiously used, as there is great reason 
to believe that complaints of the bowels of children 
originate from this source." 

Nitre — Nitrate of Potash — Saltpetre. This ar- 
ticle is pretty extensively used, "in numerous dis- 
orders. Its virtues are those of a refrigerant and 
diuretic." It also promotes insensible perspiration in 
fevers. " This powerful salt, when inadvertently 
taken in too large quantities, is one of the most fatal 
poisons. There are several attested cases on record, 
and some recent instances might be added, in which 
from half to a whole ounce of saltpetre, has occa- 
sioned violent vomiting, convulsions, swelling, and 
other painful symptoms in persons, who by mistake 
had swallowed it in a dissolved state, instead of 
glauber or similar salts." (Thacher' s Dispensatory.} 
" In large doses, such as an ounce, taken at one time, 
it produces the most dreadful symptoms, constant 
vomiting, purging, mixed with blood, convulsions and 
death." — (Coxe's Dispensatory, p. 445.) "I have 
found from a series of practical experiments, for many 
years, that saltpetre has the most certain and deadly 
effect upon the human system, of any drug that is 
used as medicine. Although the effects produced by 
it are not so immediately fatal as many others, yet its 
whole tendency is to counteract the principles of life 



184 APPENDIX. 

and destroy the operation of nature. Experience has 
taught me that it is the most powerful enemy to 
health, and that it is the most difficult opponent to 
encounter, with any degree of success, that I have 
ever met with/'— (New Guide to Health, pp. 26, 27.) 

Opium. This is the inspissated juice of the white 
poppy, or papnver somniferum. The best opium is 
Drought from Turkey ; and a very inferior kind from 
the East Indies. It may also be made from th« 
common poppy of this country. The Turks have 
the same kind of fondness for if, that the people of 
this country have for tobacco and ardent spirits. 

Opium is exhibited as a narcotic, to procure sleep, 
and as an anodyne to assuage pain. It is also used 
as an antispasmodic, and to restrain diarrhoea. In- 
deed, there are few diseases in which this powerful 
article is not employed, either in substance, as in pills, 
or in tincture, as in laudanum. A still weaker pre- 
paration of it is to be found in the paregoric elixir. 

The specific action of opium on the living system, 
by which it produces its peculiar effects, has been the 
subject of the keenest controversy amongst medical 
men. Some affirm it to be a powerful stimulant, and 
others, that it is a direct sedative. To our view, it is 
very clear, that its most important effects are sedative. 
It appears to possess but very little, if any power, 
directly to remove the cause of any disease whatever. 
It produces sleep, removes pain, relieves spasm, and 
checks diarrhoea ; but it does it by destroying sensi- 
bility. It renders the living fibre insensible to the 
stimulus of the causes which give rise to those pecu- 
liar states or conditions of disease; and its debilitating 
effects are well known to all who have taken large 
quantities to remove spasm, or cure the lock-jaw. 
But as this, like all other violent poisons, is fast run- 
ning its popular career, and is disused in the new 



APPENDIX 185 

practice of medicine, it is unnecessary to dwell longer 
upon this controversy. 

" Opium taken into the stomach in a large dose, 
gives rise to confusion of the head, and vertigo. The 
powers of all stimulating causes to make impressions on 
the body are diminished ; and even at times, and in 
situations, when persons would naturally be awake, 
sleep is irresistibly induced. In still larger doses, it 
acts in the same manner as the narcotic -poisons, 
giving rise to vertigo, headache, tremors, delirium, 
and convulsions ; and these terminating in a state of 
stupor, from which the person cannot be roused. 
This stupor is accompanied with slowness of the 
pulse, and with stertor in breathing, and the scene is 
terminated in death, attended with the same appear- 
ances as take place in an apoplexy." — (Thatcher's 
Dispensatory.') 

"It is a melancholy consideration, that opium is 
frequently resorted to for the horrid purpose of self- 
destruction. The alarming symptoms induced by it, 
are vomiting, delirium, stupor, deep and difficult 
breathing, convulsions, and death." — (Ibid.) 

Digitalis Purpurea — Foxglove. This potent 
vegetable, when taken into the stomach, produces a 
most powerful sedative effect upon the circulation, 
decreasing the general irritability of the system, whilst 
the action of the absorbents is said to be accelerated. 
It has been highly recommended in consumptions, 
palpitations of the heart, asthma, dropsy, &c, for 
which cases it has been often employed. 

" Of all the narcotics, digitalis is that which dimi- 
nishes most powerfully the actions of the system ; 
and it does so without occasioning any previous ex- 
citement. Even in a moderate dose, it diminishes 
the force and frequency of the pulse, and in a large 
dose reduces it to a great extent, as from seventy beats 



186 APPENDIX. 

to forty or thirty-five in a minute, occasioning at the 
same time vertigo, indistinct vision, violent and dura- 
ble sickness, with vomiting. In still larger quantity, 
it induces convulsions, coldness of the body, and insen- 
sibility, symptoms which have sometimes terminated 
fatally. 

" The administration of this remedy requires to be 
conducted with much caution. Its effects do not imme- 
diately appear ; and when the doses are too frequent, 
or too Quickly augmented, its action is concentrated 
so as to produce frequently the most violent symp- 
toms." — {Hooper's Dictionary.) 

Dr. Withering, who first employed the digitalis 
in the treatment of dropsy, lays down certain explicit 
rules for its administration ; referring to these, Dr. 
Thacher, in his Dispensatory, says, "without the 
strictest attention to which, no practitioner should 
prescribe this powerful and singular medicine." Dr. 
Thacher further adds, "Such are the active and 
virulent qualities of this plant, that it ought not to be 
intrusted to the direction of the inexperienced prac- 
titioner ; nor resorted to, without due attention to the 
state of the system; and when administered, its pecu- 
liar effects should be discriminated with the utmost 
vigilance and precision. Dr. Rand relates for admo- 
nition, one melancholy example of the fatal effects of 
digitalis, in a man who, having experienced relief from 
its use, adventurously exceeded the extent enjoined 
by his physician." And well may cautions and ad- 
monitions be given in regard to the use of an article 
possessing such influence over the sanguiferous sys- 
tem. What else could be rationally expected, than 
that if it possessed the power, in a moderate dose, of re- 
ducing the pulse from seventy to thirty-five, a larger dose 
would check it altogether. It is also poisonous when 
applied to wounds or sores. — (Orfila on Poison.) 



APPENDIX. 187 

Hemlock — Cicuta. " This is a large biennial 
umbelliferous plant, which grows very commonly 
about the sides of fields and hedges, and in moist 
places. The root is white, long, of the thickness of 
the finger, contains when young a milky juice, and 
resembles, both in size and form, the carrot. In spring 
it is very poisonous, in harvest less so. The stalk is 
three, four, and often six feet high, hollow, smooth, 
and marked with red or brown spots. The leaves are 
large, and of a dark green colour, having a faint, dis- 
agreeable smell, resembling the urine of a cat. The 
seeds are inferior in strength. The whole plant is a 
virulent poison, but varying much in strength accord- 
ing to circumstances. When taken in an over-dose, 
it produces vertigo, dimness of sight, difficulty of 
speech, nausea, putrid eructations, anxiety, tremors, 
and paralysis of the limbs ; to which may be added, 
dilatation of the pupils, delirium, stupor, and convul- 
sions." — ( Thacher's Dispensatory.) 

Pbussic Acid. — Hydrocyanic acid. It was but 
lately that this substance became known in its simple, 
separate state ; and still later that it was introduced 
into medicine. Prussic acid is most readily ob- 
tained from the pigment, called Prussian blue ; but 
it is also made from some vegetable productions, 
such as the bitter kernels of the drupaceous fruits, 
particularly the peach. It is used in pulmonary 
complaints, especially whooping cough, consumption, 
asthma, &c. 

The Prussic acid is said to be the most violent of 
all poisons. " Sharinger, a professor at Vienna, 
spread a certain quantity of it upon his naked arm, 
and died a little time thereafter." " When a rod, 
dipped into this acid, is put in contact with the 
tongue of an animal, death ensues before the rod can 
be withdrawn. If a bird be held a moment over the 



188 APPENDIX. 

open mouth of a vial containing Prussic acid, it 
dies." — [Hooper's Dictionary.) 

There are many other poisonous articles used as 
medicines by the medical faculty ; but we have per- 
haps dwelt sufficiently long upon this subject. In 
describing the nature and effects of medical .poisons, 
we have preferred quoting the language of those 
whose avocation it is to use them, rather than con- 
dense the facts into a narrower compass in words of 
our own ; as it must be admitted that they, to the ex- 
clusion of all others, are better acquainted with their 
destructive tendencies and fatal effects. Most indivi- 
duals, however, can call to mind cases which they 
have either seen or experienced, confirming the state- 
ments which we have made respecting the violent and 
dangerous character of many articles in common use 
by the faculty. 

But our limits admonish us to leave a subject 
which calls up, in imagination, the pale, emaciated, 
and frightful visage of some acquaintance, neighbour, 
tender child, or endeared companion, who has fallen 
a victim to the destructive powers of those poisonous ar- 
ticles, falsely gilded with the name of medicine ; the 
t fearful effects of which have been accumulating for 
the last fifty years with the most ruinous conse- 
quences; yea, we might truly say, with more fatal 
and appalling violence, in some portions of the globe, 
than pestilence, famine, or the sword. 

To the foregoing description and list of poisons, 
we will add 

ALCOHOL. 

The word Alcohol is derived from two Arabic 
words : at, (the,) and kahol, (denoting a fine mineral 
powder, mostly a combination of leaden ore and zinc, 



APPENDIX. * 189 

mixed with some liquid substance.) When distilla- 
tion was discovered, the chymist, seeing the vapour 
rising from the liquor under the process, reappear, 
when condensed, in the form of a new liquid, called 
it Al Kahol — the fine, the sublimated. 

No such substance as alcohol exists in nature, in 
any form; neither is it formed by distillation. It is 
always and mv&r'mbly formed, produced, or created, by 
the process of fermentation of saccharine or sweet sub- 
stances. No substance which does not contain sugar, 
will, when fermented, produce alcohol, and the more 
sugar any substance contains, the more alcohol will it 
yield. Wheat, rye, corn, barley, potatoes, &c, con- 
tain much starch and sugar. The proportions of 
the constituent elements of starch are nearly the 
same as those of sugar, and hence sugar is easily 
formed from starch. It is to effect this change that 
distillers and brewers malt their grain, before they 
macerate or steep it in water. After malting, the 
grain is put into water, which is gradually raised to 
a certain degree of heat, and the addition of a little 
yeast causes it to ferment. In a few hours putrefac- 
tion takes place, and alcohol is formed, mixed largely 
with water. The beer or wort is now boiled, and the 
alcohol rises from it in the form of steam. To un- 
derstand this, it is necessary to remark, that alcohol 
is converted into steam at a heat of 176°, whereas 
water requires a heat of 212° to evaporate it. The 
steam thus raised is alcohol, and is passed through a 
receiver called a worm, which is immersed in cold 
water. By this means it is condensed, and appears 
in a liquid form. This liquid has a penetrating odour, 
a burning taste, and is colourless, and highly inflam- 
mable. Still this is not what is generally known as 
ardent spirit. This is formed by adding water. 
Equal quantities of alcohol and water form proof 



190 APPENDIX. 

spirit — one part alcohol and two parts water form 
second proof — one part alcohol and three parts water 
form third proof, and so on. 

Alcohol is to be ranked among the poisons, and is 
classed with ammonia, phosphorus, and glass, or ena- 
mel. All spirituous liquors contain alcohol, and there- 
fore are poisonous ; the degree of poison depending 
upon the quantity of alcohol they contain. We are 
now speaking of spirit which has not been drugged ; 
for it is well known that spirit-makers and venders 
employ nitre, spirits of kino, cocculus indicus, &c, 
all of which are poisons. 

Pure alcohol, if injected into the veins of a living 
animal in quantities of from one to four drops, coagu- 
lates the blood, and produces death in a very few mi- 
nutes. If applied to the naked extremity of a nerve, 
it causes it instantly to contract, and deprives it of 
smse and motion. Diluted with three or four parts 
of water, and taken into the stomach, it produces 
similar effects, corrugates the solid parts which it 
touches, and destroys, at least for a time, their use 
and office. Water does not change the nature of al- 
cohol ; it only separates it into smaller portions. The 
same amount of alcohol in good wine has less effect 
upon the system than in brandy. Still the alcohol, 
the deadly poison, is there, and as far as it is there, it 
is injurious. Alcohol in pure wine, (by which we 
mean that which has had no admixture, and derives 
its alcohol only from fermentation,) " is in combina- 
tion with saccharine, mucilaginous, and other vege- 
table principles." This combination very considerably 
diminishes the action of alcohol upon the system. 
To account for this, it is only necessary to remember, 
that brandy is only alcohol and water — wine is alco- 
hol, water, saccharine, mucilaginous, and other vege- 
table principles, mentioned above. 



CASES CURED. 



A PLAIN STATEMENT OF FACTS, 

In which the superiority of the Botanic practice 
over that of the Mineral treatment of disease is ex- 
hibited, for the encouragement of such of my readers 
as may be dragging out a miserable existence, with- 
out the least hope of ever being benefited by the use 
of medicine. They will here see, that some of the 
most hopeless cases that can well be conceived of, 
were successfully treated by the Thomsonian practi- 
tioner : the disease arrested, and the patient restored 
to a comfortable degree of health, in a very short 
time; then 

Throw away your mineral poisons, 
Stinking trash, the health annoy ; 
Never use them but on vermin, 
Which, I'm 9ure, they will destroy. 
Rosy health will crown your efforts, 
Pallid cheeks wilV disappear ; 
Sleepless nights and dreams unpleasant 
You'll no longer have to fear. 



CASE I. 
Some six or seven years ago, I was called on to 
visit a lady residing in Lancaster county, Pa. ; from 
herself, or husband, I learned that she had never en- 
joyed verv good health, even while a girl ; and, after 

191 



192 APPENDIX. 

she became a mother, she suffered still more from 
various forms of disease, which were greatly aggra- 
vated by the medical treatment she received from her 
physicians. When I first saw her, I thought her 
case was, indeed, a hopeless one ; but told her, that, 
if there was any relief for her, it could only be ob- 
tained from a faithful and persevering application 
of the Thomsonian remedies ; as she had now spent 
upwards of six years in trying other remedies, (or 
rather poisons,) in vain. Upon examination, I found 
that her throat, and the upper part of her mouth, was 
in a state of severe ulceration ; seven ulcers being 
visible, and the tonsils so much inflamed and swollen, 
as to render it almost impossible for her to swallow 
even the mildest fluid. S\xe also suffered much from 
stranguary and constipation of the bowels ; which, I 
thought, were, in part, occasioned by a prolapsed state 
of the uterus, and the constant use of a pessary, for 
the support of that organ. Add to this, the diseased 
state of the liver; which was ulcerated, painful, and 
swelled so much on the right side, as to appear un- 
commonly large, even through her clothes. 

But that which rendered her condition the more 
alarming, and which, from her feelings, she had every 
reason to believe was true : her physician comforted her 
friends, by assuring them that he understood her case 
well ; that it was morally impossible she could ever 
be cured, as she had a cancer on the inside of her 
breast, and that the ignorant steam doctor would 
only aggravate her case, and steam her to death, in 
less than six weeks / Yet, notwithstanding her hope- 
less situation, we undertook her case with fear and 
trembling, and, after about three months' unremitting 
attention, we had the satisfaction (under God) of re- 
storing this amiable lady to a comfortable degree of 
health ; which has continued until the present time. 



APPENDIX. 193 

As it regards the particular mode of treatment, it 
would be impossible for me to describe it correctly, at 
this late day ; as I have lost the memorandum I kept 
of it at the time : but, suffice it to say, that regular 
courses were administered every three or four days ; 
and tonics, astringents, demulcents, and light but 
nourishing food, were freely used between the courses, 
until the citadel of life was retaken, and the sufferer 
restored to ease and comfort. 

While going through the fifth course of medicine, 
she puked up two lumps resembling the cores of large 
biles, but more solid; which, she said, must have 
come from her breast. The breast was very painful, 
both before and after the discharge of these lumps, and 
bled profusely at times, for several days afterwards, 

For a more particular account of this case, I would 
refer such of my readers, as can make it convenient, 
to call on Amos King and wife, and Eli Smedley and 
wife, of Little Britain, and on Joseph Smith and wife, 
of Drumore township, Lancaster county, who are all 
personally acquainted with the lady here referred to. 

Wm. Johnston. 

January, 1841. 



CASES II. & III. 

From the Thomsonian Recorder. 
To the Editors: 

Gentlemen,-^ have lately successfully treated 
two very alarming cases of inflammation of the uterus 
after child-bed delivery. Mrs. B. was attended scien- 
tifically for several days, and was well supplied with 
cold water, and drastic purges to stop the wasting and 
guard against inflammation! But, alas! she grew 
worse very fast. Her strength and speech failed ; 
her jaws became stiffened, and life appeared to be 
13 



194 APPENDIX. 

quivering on her lips, ready to take its everlasting 
departure ! In this situation she was thought a fit 
subject for a Thomsonian. We were accordingly- 
sent for. Our first object was to get some warm 
medicine inside. This could only be done by forcing 
her teeth open and shaking it down her throat ; after 
which, we bathed her body and limbs with warm 
brandy and No. 6, placing steaming bricks about her 
in bed, and repeating the warm medicine; we soon 
got the circulation equalized, and obtained a free per- 
spiration over the whole body. In two days she was 
able to be carried through a full course, and in one 
week she discharged her nurse and was able to per- 
form the work of her family. 

The other lady, Mrs. H., (a fine, healthy young 
woman, with her first child,) was five days in the 
hands of the doctor ; she wasted badly, and her child 
narrowly escaped being crushed to death with his 
instruments. On the seventh day, her evacuations 
ceased ; she became delirious, inflammation of the 
uterus had taken place, and she was swelled exter- 
nally to an alarming extent. On the evening of the 
eighth day, the doctor refused to attend upon her, 
stating he " did not know what more could be done, 
except to give her a little more oil /" On this even- 
ing I was called upon, and found her in the situation 
above described. There she lay, puffing and blowing, 
and ever and anon exclaiming, " O ! the fiery pains ! 
how they shoot up my inside !" There was no fire 
in her room, nor would the doctor suffer any thing 
warm to be put about her, except cloths dipped in the 
spirits of turpentine, which were applied to the ab- 
domen. I considered her case so desperate, that I 
refused to administer medicine unless some Thomso- 
nians were present to bear testimony (if necessity 
required it) to what might be done for her. 



APPENDIX. 195 

The following are the outlines of the treatment in 
her case. 

1. I gave Composition Tea, with Nerve-Powder and 
No. 6 in it, in small doses, accompanied with nou- 
rishment, increasing the size and strength of the 
doses as she could bear them. 

2. The uterus and bowels were injected with No. 3, 
Nerve-Powder, and No. 6, adding slippery elm to that 
which was applied to the uterus. 

3. The abdomen was repeatedly bathed with No. 6, 
and cloths wet in thin elm jelly were kept constantly 
applied to the vagina. 

4. Steaming bricks were kept constantly to her feet, 
and a good fire in her room. 

5. No. 4, made into syrup, was given to strengthen 
the digestive organs, while No. 2 was occasionally 
given in a little cream, to maintain " the fountain 
above the stream." 

The above treatment was unremittingly attended 
to for three days and three nights, when, all alarming 
symptoms having disappeared, the woman was able 
to sit up in her room and nurse her child. After I 
had been about eighteen hours with this woman, the 
doctor came to see her, and in answer to her inqui- 
ries, told her that the cause of the burning pains of 
which she complained, was probably a slight inflam- 
mation of the uterus ; yet he told a neighbour woman, 
on his way home, that if inflammation had taken 
place, the treatment she was receiving from me would 

kill her ! This' is a sample of this Dr. S 's 

generosity towards me, as manifested in several other 
cases, after I had raised his patients, as it were, from 
the very brink of the grave. 

Wm. Johnston, T. B. P. 

Chester County, Pa., Nov. 19, 1834. 



196 APPENDIX. 

CASE IV. 

This case was reported by Drs. Nash and Tatem, 
of the Thomsonian Infirmary, at Norfolk, Va. 

" We were called on board a vessel, a few days 
ago, to see the captain, who was in a most alarming 
condition. By powerful exertion he had produced a 
rupture. The scrotum was enlarged enormously, 
and much inflamed. He also laboured under a bili- 
ous fever. The best medical aid had been afforded 
him for eight days previous to our seeing him, but 
without producing the least abatement of his suffer- 
ings, or arresting the progress of the disease. Their 
treatment was the lancet, calomel, and ice applica- 
tions to the rupture. We immediately removed the 
ice, made the application of steam, &c. &c, and in 
three hours the rupture disappeared ; in 48 hours he 
was clear of fever, assumed the command of his ves- 
sel, and proceeded to sea." 



CASE V. 

To the Editors : 

Gentlemen, — The writer of this letter, a young 
man of respectability, came to our infirmary, August 
8th, 1834, in a condition not easy to describe; he 
being bent backwards to a half circle, with one hip 
drawn out of its place, and a large bunch on his back. 
In this condition he was obliged to depend entirely on 
his crutches, to move from place to place about the 
house, and was restored in fifteen days, at our infirm- 
ary, corner of Charles and Mount Vernon Streets, 
Boston. On leaving the infirmary, he took his 
crutches in his hands, and said he would keep them 
as an everlasting memorial against the poison-cfoc- 
tors. By publishing the within, you will confer a 



APPENDIX. 197 

favour on two constant readers and admirers of the 
Recorder. 

Holliston, Sept. 22, 1834. 

Messrs. Thomson <$r Webber : Thinking that you 
might be gratified by hearing from a young Thom- 
sonian, I have taken pen in hand to address a few 
lines to you on my past and present experience. 
After leaving your infirmary, (August 23d,) I had a 
very pleasant ride in the stage to this place, (24 miles.) 
What made it more pleasant was, that I had been so 
far relieved, at your infirmary, of my lameness, that 
I rode without any uneasiness to my back or hip, 
which I had not done before for several months. My 
brother and myself conversed all the way on Thom- 
sonism. There was a gentleman in the stage who 
was afflicted with an inflammation in the eyes, and 
had been so for five years, more or less, and probably 
will be, as long as he employs M. D.'s, who had 
directed a mineral wash, (poison, of course.) I ad- 
vised him, as I shall every person who is afflicted, to 
use Thomsonian medicines. He stated that he had 
taken twenty-five dollars worth of Hygeian pills, 
without curing his eyes, and that he had then been to 
Boston to see some great M. D. He was very much 
prejudiced against Thomsonian remedies, though not 
more so than I was, previous to my coming to your 
place last month : as it was, I told him many things 
to reflect on, and we parted at this place — he going 
on farther. Our other passengers, being ladies and 
children, who took no active part in the conversation, 
except occasionally greeting us with their smiles, as 
the dialogue became animating. We arrived at Hol- 
liston. I surprised the people collected around the 
tavern, by crossing the street, with my crutches, a 
great cloak, and a bundle in my hands. During 
the afternoon and evening, I had a great many calls 



198 APPENDIX. 

from persons who knew of my lameness, and were 
waiting anxiously the result of my visit to the steam 
doctors. I told and re-told the whole story, in my 
best manner. They all seemed pleased, for there were 
no doctors amongst the number. No, no ! the doc- 
tors have stood back from that time to this, with one 
worthy exception, and he lives in Southbridge. My 
brother's store was nearly full all the evening — they 
were mostly young men. I talked of nothing, 
thought of nothing but the virtues of steam and Lo- 
belia, till 10 o'clock, when I took a glass of wine 
bitters, and retired, with a heart overflowing with 
gratitude to have met my friends again, so much im- 
proved in gait and health. I stayed with my brother 
until Wednesday, (August 27,) when I left in the 
stage for Southbridge, where my parents reside. I 
rode as far as Thompson, Conn., (30 miles,) the first 
day, where I stayed one night, as I wanted to see 
some of the enemies of steam, who resided there, 
and who had warned me of the consequences (death 
at least) of going to a steam doctor. One in parti- 
cular, who was loudest against the practice, was H. 
Blashfield, President of the Thompson Bank. He 
wanted me to go to Doctor Warren or Jackson, who, 
he said, knew something. This was when on my 
way from Southbridge to Boston. Well, here I was, 
back again to Thompson, very much improved, alive 
and kicking, to say the least, without my crutches ! 
which I had left behind at Holliston, where I intend 
keeping them till I become a steam doctor, when I 
shall hoist them for a sign. 

But to return : Mr. B. expressed a great pleasure 
at seeing me return, although contrary to his expec- 
tation. He listened to all I had to say, with so much 
attention, that, before ten o'clock, A. M. next day, at 
which time I left for Southbridge, I had convinced 



APPENDIX. 199 

him of the virtues of vegetable medicine and steam. 
The stage got to Thompson about one o'clock, P. M., 
so that I had a fine opportunity of telling the people, 
collected about the tavern, on account of a petty court, 
all about that poisonous weed, Lobelia. I talked so 
warmly of their having a right, and doctoring their 
own families, that they thought I was an agent. To 
this I said no, and attributed my feelings to the great 
benefit which I had received, and which they could 
not deny, as they had seen me previously hobbling 
about on my crutches. In the course of my long 
talk to the company, I broached in upon the regulars, 
for doing their share of the murdering of the human 
race, and what I knew, and had experienced from 
their hands, which was no small story, I assure you. 
At the end, I inquired how many they had in Thomp- 
son. Three, said one : Then three too many, said I. 
How do they like this system 1 I questioned again. — 
Here are two of them, said the landlord, they can an- 
swer themselves. So it seems they had been listening. 
Good, thought I, nothing daunted, we'll have some 
talk with them ; but they had not much to say : they 
merely asked a few questions, which I answered, in 
true Yankee style, by asking others. August 28, 
rode to Southbridge, 12 miles. It is impossible for 
me to describe the pleasure, the joy, and surprise by 
which I was received home again, by my parents, 
friends, and acquaintances. It is impossible, said 
they, that you can go without your crutches ! We 
never expected it ! Nor did I, was my answer. But 
see, says I, I can dance with ease then came some 
flourishes with my heels. I stayed in Southbridge till 
last Friday, September 19th, when I returned to this 
place in eight hours, riding forty-two miles without 
feeling any particular fatigue. While I was in South- 
bridge, I steamed eight times, which has brought my 



200 APPENDIX. 

leg down to the proper length, and I now walk with 
ease and freedom over hills and mountains, or 
through the woods, which I practised considerably 
while at South bridge. My back is rather weak, and 
when I stoop forward, I have to favour it by placing 
one hand on my knee ; it is, however gradually im- 
proving—having on a Thomsonian plaster. The 
doctors at Southbridge, with one exception, looked 
dark and cloudy when I returned, depending on my 
own legs for. support. I told one of our doctors, in 
this place, he might hang up his lancet if a steam 
doctor comes into the village. O, said he, it is as- 
tonishing how quackery prevails ! It is light and 
life, said I, that prevails, with truth for their founda- 
tion. 

Remember me to Doctors Hill and Lang. I shall 
be in Boston next month, I think, and I shall call and 
tell the rest of the story; it is too much to write. 
I have not given up the idea of being a Thomsonian 
practitioner, but must be otherwise engaged for a 
month, when I shall be able to be with you. In the 
mean time, believe me improving, and that Thomson- 
ism is spreading. There are four family rights in 
this town at present, that I have heard of. 

With respect, I remain yours, &c. 

Newell G. Morse. 



CASE VI. 

This and the following case were reported by Do 
tor Wilsox Thompson, of Lebanon, (0.) 
Margaret Foglesoxg, of Lebanon, aged sev* 
or eight years, was taken ill with a slight fever. & 
physician was called, who gave her a portion of cata 
mel, to destroy the worms. After its operation, shv 
being no better, her father came for me. I attended, 



APPENDIX. 201 

and gave her Composition Tea ; at the same time 
placing at her feet a warm stone, wrapped in cloths 
saturated with water and vinegar. The next morn- 
ing I found her free from fever, sitting up, and eating. 
I left medicine, with directions to give it, so as to keep 
her in a moderate perspiration. As her health was 
so rapidly improving, I told her parents that my fur- 
ther visits might be dispensed with, unless she should 
relapse. Shortly after I left the house, the child com- 
plained that the medicine smarted her mouth ; which 
was tender from the effects of the calomel previously 
administered. Her mother now insisted on sending 
for another physician ; which was accordingly done, 
although the child was apparently no worse, The 
physician came, and after commenting upon the aw- 
ful effects of the steam medicine, (as he called it,) 
and the good fortune of the child in being rescued 
from it so soon, commenced a course of salivation, 
and reduced the patient to the borders of death. 

The calomel, acting on the gums and inner sur- 
face of the cheeks, progressed in eating them away, 
until a number of "the teeth dropped out ; after several 
weeks' time, mortification of the parts commenced, 
and soon made its appearance through the cheek by 
a black spot on the external surface, of the size of a 
six-cent piece. The attending physician then applied 
a blister to the cheek ; and in a few hours the flesh, 
to the whole size of the plaster, appeared black and 
dead, exhaling an extremely offensive smell. The 
severity of pain was so great, that she would tear her 
face with her nails, and scream from the anguish. It 
became necessary to confine her hands, to prevent 
injury. 

In this situation the physician gave her up as in 
curable ; and I was again sent for. I went, and in- 
formed her father that I thought there was but one 



202 APPENDIX. 

chance in a hundred of rendering her any relief; but 
after much persuasion I consented to prescribe for her 
case. I directed a large poultice to be made of equal 
parts of white pond-lily root, bayberry bark, hemlock 
bark, and the bark of slippery elm, all pulverised, and 
boiled in water, made strong with ginger, and thick- 
ened with crackers. I then washed the whole wound, 
both inside and out, with strong soap suds; after 
which I washed it with a very strong tea of sassafras, 
common dogwood bark, and No. 6, mixed together, 
and used cold. The poultice above mentioned was 
then applied, and kept constantly moist with the above 
named wash ; renewing the poultice every six hours, 
and washing the wound with soap suds, &c, at each 
renewal, and frequently bathing the line between the 
living and dead flesh with a strong tincture of Lobelia. 
During this process the patient drank frequently of a 
mixture of Composition and No. 6, and kept in her 
mouth lint or rags, wet with the above wash and 
No. 6. 

Pursuing this course with constant attention, in 
about twelve hours the disease was checked. In 
twenty-four hours a division was perceptible between 
the dead and living flesh ; and in a few days the 
whole mass of the dead flesh, loosening from the jaw- 
bones and living flesh, was detached by clipping some 
integuments round the edges ; leaving the bone bare 
(which was black along the violar process, and out 
of which the teeth had previously dropped) from near 
the middle of the upper lip round just below the tem- 
plar process, to the middle of the cheek, or about as 
far back as the back molar tooth, and thence to the 
lower edge of the under jaw bone, and following this 
along, passing the middle of the chin, and taking off 
about three-fourths of the under lip. A& the flesh in- 
closed in this line, was removed in the above mass ; 



APPENDIX. 203 

the violar came away by degrees. After this mass 
was removed, I continued the above washes, and 
dressed the wound with healing salve ; and thus the 
entire cure was effected, with less disfiguration than 
could be expected under such circumstances. 

Wilson Thompson. 



CASE VII. 

A certain Mrs. Stephens, aged about forty-seven 
years, had been for many years severely afflicted with 
a cough, and frequent ulcerations of some part of the 
thoracic cavity. These ulcerations were supposed to 
be on the lungs, or some of their immediate appen- 
dages : she discharged large quantities of purulent 
matter. She had been afflicted in this manner through 
a tedious succession of so many years, that she had 
abandoned the fond hopes of obtaining a cure, and 
yielded the soothing flattery of illusive anticipations 
to indulge and meditate despair. Her flesh was 
wasted away, until her emaciated frame presented the 
appearance of a living skeleton, connected by skin 
and ligaments. Her youngest child, I understood, 
v/as about thirteen years old. When she first made 
application to me, I was in Indiana, a few miles 
northwest of Connersville, near to where she now 
lives. She stated her case. I proceeded to prescribe 
and administer Thomson's Composition Powders ; 
saturated Tincture of Lobelia ; Nos. 2, 3, 6 ; Nerve- 
Powder, &c, as the case appeared to require. Di- 
rected to prepare some stomachic bitters, to be com- 
pounded of hoarhound, poplar bark, bitter root, su- 
mach, prickly ash, and thoroughstem. I was far 
from home, and not in a situation to put her through 
a regular Thomsonian course of medicine at that 
time. However, perceiving she had derived such 



204 APPENDIX. 

special benefits from the small trial made of botanic 
medicine, she began to indulge a confidential hope, 
that if I could and would attend her, it was even pos- 
sible she might obtain a cure. 

Some time elapsed until, (a little more than a year 
ago,) in my travels, I passed through the neighbour- 
hood. She sent for me: I found her exceedingly 
low. She was afflicted with a severe attack of in- 
fluenza. The fever was inflammatory and violent. 
All her friends had concluded that this certainly must 
be her last sickness. The diseased state of her lungs, 
and her worn down constitution were unfavourable 
and discouraging circumstances. The attack was 
sudden, severe, and had progressed for two weeks 
with increasing violence. 

I commenced the treatment of this complicated 
and distressful case, by giving her Composition Pow- 
ders, and No. 2, half and half, using the American 
Valerian very freely; thus stimulating her in this 
manner for about an hour, or at least until I thought 
her strength was increased sufficiently to justify the 
attempt of placing her over the steam bath. In being 
steamed she sweated profusely, and every vestige of 
fever disappeared. I then used a cold bath, laving 
her with a solution of common salt in water and vine- 
gar : then placing her in bed, I gave her about ten 
teaspoonfuls of Thomson's 3d Preparation. This 
was given a little after dark. She soon puked two 
or three times : she threw up but little. She then 
became restless and deranged, agonized with labori- 
ous breathing, and almost incessant coughing. She 
lost her speech and tossed from side to side, frequently 
throwing herself on the floor in defiance of our ut- 
most efforts to prevent her, unless we had opposed 
strength to strength, at the hazard of doing her some 
material injury. In this situation she continued until 



APPENDIX. 205 

about the break of day. The afflicted family watched 
with painful anxiety round her bed, in tears and sobs. 
All the encouragement I could give them Was unavail- 
ing. As the morning light began to dawn, she com- 
menced puking freely, soon called for food, took freely 
of stimulating tonics, and was soon so completely re- 
lieved, that her husband said, she was as lightsome 
as in her youthful days. She continued to improve 
in her general health. 

Reflecting on~cases like this, is it any matter of 
wonder, that the Thomsonian cause is rising in pub- 
lic estimation 1 Rather, I would say, is it not pass- 
ing strange, that there should any one be found, so 
lost to reason, so blinded by prejudice, as to make op- 
position, when surrounded by so many demonstra- 
tions of the safety and unparalleled efficacy of the 
Thomsonian system of medical practice. These deep- 
rooted prejudices must give way : they certainly are 
beginning to yield, and must finally disappear. 

Wilson Thompson-. 



CASE VIII. 
Inflammation of the Eyes. — This case was occa- 
sioned by taking a severe cold. The patient, Mr. A. 
Baker, residing in this county, (Chester,) as soon as 
he found his case was likely to become a serious one, 
sent for one of the most popular doctors in the coun- 
ty, who immediately prescribed the usual remedies, 
namely, purging medicines ; lead-water, &c. But 
these remedies not having the desired effect, and the 
eyes and eyelids being in a high state of inflamma- 
tion, the lids were turned up and scarified, on the 
under side, until they bled freely. This treatment, 
however, only made the matter worse, and the doctor 
proposed bleeding directly on the eyeballs ! but to 



206 APPENDIX. 

this proposition the sufferer would not consent. But 
the case now became more alarming every day, and 
all the doctor could do, or did do, seemed to be una- 
vailing ; nevertheless, he kindly advised his patient 
to have nothing to do with the Thomsonians, for 
if he did employ them, he might rest assured " they 
would soon put him as blind as the d — / /" For 
nearly fottr weeks, however, he attended Mr. Baker 
faithfully ; and, I verily believe, he did every thing 
he could do to restore his patient to health and eye- 
sight ; for, by this time, his health was much im- 
paired, and he was almost, or totally blind. The 
doctor either believed, or pretended to believe, that 
Mr. Baker's sight was entirely gone ; for he told 
some' of his friends, in Cochran ville, who were 
inquiring about his case, that he was then, or would 
soon be, " as blind as the d — 1." This consoling in- 
telligence, which was soon conveyed to the suffering 
man, so discouraged him, and destroyed his confidence 
in the doctor, that he straightway applied for relief to 
the despised Thomsonians. As I was from home, at 
this time, attending on several cases of scarlet fever, 
he applied to his friend and neighbour, Mrs. McNiel, 
who, without delay, took him through a regular course 
of medicine. This afforded him some relief, and, the 
next day, her husband called on me for medicine, and 
advice how to use it in this case. I directed, that the 
regular courses be continued every day, or at least 
every other day, and that, during the steaming opera- 
tion, the eyes should be bound up with a bundle of 
soft cloths, and kept constantly wet with cold water ; 
and, after the patient was entirely through the course, 
that they should be well bathed with Thomson's eye- 
water;* and between the courses, to give him as 

* Thomson's Eyewater is thus prepared : Take equal 
parts of witch hazel leaves, red raspberry leaves, bayberry 



APPENDIX. 20? 

much light and nourishing food, as his appetite would 
crave ; and to use the Bitter Tonics freely, say four or 
five times each day ; and to pursue this plan of treat- 
ment, until every vestige of the disease disappeared. 

To the credit of Mrs. McNiel, and the friends who 
assisted her, she continued this mode of treatment 
perse veringly, and, in two weeks' time, had the plea- 
sure of seeing her friend and neighbour restored to 
good health and eyesight, which has continued unto 
the present time. Wi. Johnston. 

January, 1841. 



CASES IX. & X. 

From a Norfolk (Va.) Paper. 
THE THOMSONIAN PRACTICE. 
Facts are stubborn things. — Mr. Broughton will 
please gratify the wishes of N. P. Tatem and Henry 
Sparrow, Esqrs., by publishing the following commu- 
nication in his paper. 

Most respectfully, 

T. Nash & Tatem. 
September 3, 1834. 

Pleasant Hill, Aug. 29, 1834. * 

Messrs. Nash $ Tatem .♦— I conceive it to be a 

duty which I owe to the public, to make known the 

following facts, in relation to the Thomsonian Prac- 

bark, and a little No. 2 ; make a strong decoction of these 
articles, and strain it off, and let it settle clear ; and, when 
cool, add one-fourth part of No. 6, and bottle for use. 

Directions. — If the eyes are very sore, or much inflamed, 
dilute in clear water as much of this medicine as you may 
want to use at one time, say a teaspoonful ; still using it a 
little stronger every day, until you can use it without being 
diluted. Indeed, the stronger it is, the better. Night and 
morning are the best times to use it, remembering to open 
and shut the eyes in cold water, once or twice a day, while 
following these directions. 



APPENDIX. 

tice of Medicine. In the latter part of the year 1832, 
the scarlet fever, in its most malignant state, made its 
appearance in my family. It first attacked a child, 
which was immediately placed in the hands of one 
of the most skilful physicians in your borough, and, 
after suffering for ten days without any abatement of 
the disease, it died in a state of putrefaction. About 
the same time one of my negro men was attacked 
with pleurisy, and placed in the hands of the same 
physician. He died in the course of ten days. As 
my family was very large, numbering seventy-five in 
all, and the scarlet fever had now attacked several 
other members, and believing the disease almost in- 
curable, under the old practice, I was induced, not- 
withstanding my prejudices, to try the Thomsonian 
practice, and, much to the gratification and surprise 
of my family, we succeeded in curing every case, 
amounting in all to twenty. I think I may safely 
say, that many cases were equally as violent as the 
first. They were generally relieved in the course of 
four or five days. Having now the most implicit 
confidence in Br. Thomson's system of practice, and 
having learned from experience that the medicines 
were entirely harmless in their nature, I have not 
hesitated to administer the medicines in every case 
of sickness which has occurred in my family from 
that time to the present ; as also in the families of 
my neighbours, when requested. 

The number of my patients has exceeded one hun- 
dred, and their diseases have been various; among 
others, bilious fevers, pleurisy, scarlet fever, dropsy, 
dysentery, liver complaint, dyspepsia, rheumatism, 
cholera morbus, bilious colic, coughs, wounds, &c, 
of all which cases I have lost but one, an infant. 
During the last month, August, I was myself attacked 
w r ith sun-stroke, produced by exposure, and was en- 



APPENDIX. 209 

tirely relieved after taking four Thom'sonian courses, 
administered by my son and Mr. T. Nash. I have 
now on hand a case of paralysis ; the patient, one of 
my negro men, aged sixty-seven years, one entire side 
of him having been completely paralysed. I com- 
menced administering the medicines the day after his 
attack, and have continued them regularly twice a 
week, for three weeks past, without debarring him at 
all of the use of his usual food. After the fourth 
course, he was enabled to walk with the assistance of 
one crutch, and has now the use of both his foot and 
hand, walks with a stick only, and I think will be 
able to walk in a few weeks ; and, notwithstanding 
he has taken large quantities of Lobelia, and been 
very often steamed, he has gained in weight about 
ten pounds. 

I must not forget, while I am writing, to inform the 
public that Dr. Stark sent to my care last fall, one of 
his negro men ; he was very much diseased, and the 
doctor informed me that himself and some other phy- 
sician had exhausted their skill in endeavouring to 
restore him to health, without success. I succeeded 
in relieving him from his emaciated condition, in a 
few weeks, and, in three months, he was entirely 
cured, and returned home well and hearty. Negro 
Phill is now well, or was some three weeks since, 
when I saw him. 

Some time since, I was called to see a woman, the 
day after her confinement: she was extremely ill, 
suffering excruciatingly, and had a high fever. In a 
few hours she was entirely relieved, and I did not find 
it necessary to give her more medicine afterwards. 

And now, gentlemen, you see that I have given the 
Thomsonian system a fair trial, and can honestly and 
urgently recommend it, properly administered, in all 
cases of disease. N. P. Tatem. 

14 



210 APPENDIX. 

Princess Anne, Aug. 20, 1834. 
Messrs. Nash Sf Tatem : 

Dear Friends, — In the spring of 1833, I com- 
menced the use of the Thomsonian remedies, being 
then ill with a severe bilious fever. My sufferings 
with this disease, under the old practice, by the 
regular doctors, have always been of long duration 
and very great, never having recovered from an at- 
tack under from one to three months ; and even then 
I was left in an emaciated condition. Hearing of the 
good effects of Thomson's medicines, and the speedy 
cures, I resolved to test them, and accordingly sent 
immediately for my respected friend, N. P. Tatem, 
Esq., who promptly came and commenced adminis- 
tering the medicines. In three hours, my high fever 
and excruciating pains were all gone ; I felt perfectly 
at ease, and was in a fine perspiration. I really con- 
sider the attack of fever at this time was as severe as 
any I have ever felt ; but in that short space of time 
it was thrown off, and I had no return of it. My 
appetite was forthwith restored, my strength rapidly 
gained, and in one week I had commenced a journey, 
and on the first day rode thirty-six miles. I soon 
entirely recovered. Since that time I have had several 
attacks of bilious fever, inflammatory sore throat, &c, 
and some members of my family, which is tolerably 
numerous, have also been attacked with pleurisy, 
bilious fever, and indeed have been ill, but were all 
relieved and cured in from one to six days at farthest. 
I really look upon Thomson's system as a great bless- 
ing, and do urgently recommend it to the notice of 
all persons. You will please let the public see my 
certificate, and inform them I am now sixty-two years 
old, and enjoy better health since I commenced the 
use of Thomson's medicines, than I have done for 
many years before. Henry Sparrow. 



APPENDIX. 211 

CASE XI. 

A case of decided Hydrophobia, cured by Steam, 
Lobelia, and their concomitant Thomsonian Re- 
medies. 

There are, no doubt, many true votaries of science 
who will be disposed to carp at this assertion ; but it 
is, nevertheless, a fact. The writer of this was called 
in on Thursday, the 13th instant, to see a negro boy 
about ten years of age, the property of Mr. David 
Harper, of this county, who had been bitten by a mad 
dog some time in the month of March or April last. 
For sometime previous to the 13th, (as they informed 
me,) he had shown some strange symptoms, such as 
occasional derangement of mind, and a disposition to 
wander; and, on one occasion, got off from home, 
and had the whole family, consisting of some six, or 
eight, or ten persons in pursuit of him, for some time 
before he was overtaken. 

On the above named day, he was taken with the 
most violent and alarming fits of madness. Barking, 
howling, slavering, or foaming at the mouth, and 
attempting to bite every person who approached 
him ; and, on the presentation of water, or any ves- 
sel which he might think contained water, these 
symptoms became aggravated to the very highest 
pitch. He was somewhat calm when I first came in, 
and remained so for some two or three hours. The 
fits now beginning to return, I caused some water to 
be presented to him and shaken, when the most hor- 
rible sight I ever beheld, was exhibited. The above 
symptoms, in all their very worst forms. It was as 
much as three grown persons could do to hold him 
and keep him from biting them. He would even 
seize the bed clothes, and growl and shake them with 
as much seeming canine ferocity as ever a mad dog 



212 APPENDIX. 

did. With much difficulty, I poured into his mouth 
probably three tablespoonfuls of the third preparation 
of No. 1 ; the greater part of which was swallowed, 
but with difficulty, for he was considerably swelled 
about the root of the tongue and under the jaws. I 
caused a good fire to be raised immediately, and 
warm rocks kept as well as could be done to his feet, 
legs, and the lower parts of his body. While the fits 
were on him so severe, his pulse could hardly be felt 
at all. In the course of half an hour the violence of 
the fits began to abate. I then gave him two or three 
cups of strong Composition Tea, made very hot with 
No. 2, with two teaspoonfuls of the third preparation 
of No. 1 in each cup, and put him over the steam, 
keeping it pretty high, and every five or ten minutes 
repeating the Composition and 3d Preparation. To 
be short, I administered the medicines with no sparing 
hand ; for I was convinced they were harmless, and I 
was determined to see what effect they would have in 
this case. In less than twenty minutes after I had 
put him over the steam, he was perfectly at ease, 
broke out in a gentle perspiration, and his pulse rose 
to the full and healthy stage ; and, so soon as the 
steaming was over, ami he wiped dry and put to bed, 
he fell into a sound sleep, and slept without inter- 
mission for ten or twelve hours, 
v While he was asleep, I left him and went home, 
about two miles distant, and directed that, when he 
awoke, the same medicines must be continued, until 
they produced vomiting. I had been a little surprised 
at his not having vomited before I left him, for I knew 
I had given medicine enough to vomit ten or twelve 
men in ordinary cases. At this, however, I was not dis- 
heartened, for I believed that the Longer the medicines 
remained in him the more they would be diffused, 
and the more powerful their effect in counteracting 



APPENDIX. 213 

the cause of the disease ; and I knew that as long as 
he could be kept easy and warm, and with a good 
pulse, it was impossible for him to die. 

In the course of two»or three hours after I left him, 
he vomited copiously, (as they informed me,) and, 
in about three hours more, which was about five 
hours from the time I left him, I was sent for again, 
the fits having returned with nearly the same degree 
of violence. I pursued the same course as described 
above, and found that the medicines and steaming 
produced the desired effect in less than half the time 
required in the first instance ; he again fell asleep and 
slept soundly. I had requested, when I first saw him 
in the fits, that Dr. M. W. McCraw, who lived some 
ten or twelve miles distant, might be sent for, and 
also expressed a wish that several of the neighbours, 

and particularly Dr. S 11, a regular bred physician, 

with whom I had held several conversations on the 
subject of the Thomsonian system of practice, and 
whom I knew to be incapable of wilful misrepresenta- 
tion or deception, should be called in to see the real 
situation of the boy. But to this it was objected by 
the family, that the boy could hardly live till Dr. 
McCraw could be got ; and that, in fact, it required 
the presence of every one who was able to do any 
thing when he was labouring under the fits. The 
truth was, that they thought the disease incurable. 

There had been a case immediately in the neigh- 
bourhood some three or four years before, of a young 
man, the son of one of our most respectable citizens. 
Several physicians had been called in, and all declared 
there was no cure for the disease ; he of course died : 
and the whole case, written off in scientific style, was 
published in the newspapers of the day, and tended 
to rivet upon the mind r of the people, in all the sur- 
rounding country, a conviction that the disease carried 



214 APPENDIX. 

in its train, (and in spite of human skill,) death, in 
all its most hideous forms. 

But to return to this case. — After I had twice re- 
duced the spasms or fits, the family consented, as they 
began to have some hope of a cure, that Dr. McCraw 
might be sent for, and I despatched a note to the doc- 
tor, to come immediately, and bring some of his me- 
dicine, (my own supply, being kept chiefly for the use 
of my own family, was small.) I then left the boy 
asleep, and again went home, intending to return 
about the time the doctor should get there. When I 
returned the doctor was there, having arrived within 
about three hours, and that in the night, from the time 
the messenger had started for him. It was now 
about thirty-four or thirty-six hours from the time I 
had been first called in. We found the fits coming on 
him, and gave the medicines in probably rather larger 
quantities than had been done before. The boy had 
only some slight fits, but barked and snapped, and 
manifested the same dread of water. He, however, 
vomited a little, and fell asleep before we could get 
him over the steam, and has never had a fit since, 
but is now, (the tenth day,) to all appearance, as well 
as he ever was, eats heartily, sleeps soundly, and in 
fact we consider him perfectly cured. We have 
however, thought it best to continue the medicines in 
small quantities, and to steam him at least once in 
forty-eight hours, till now. It may perhaps be pro- 
per that I should state that the dread of water did 
not subside with the last fits, but that, for several 
days, two or three at least, this symptom showed itself, 
and I have no doubt but that he might have been 
thrown into fits again by persisting in shaking or 
pouring water out of one vessel into another before 
him. - 1 am satisfied that this might have been done, 
so as to have brought on the disease again with all its 



APPENDIX. 215 

violence. Some slight experiments were made, which 
completely satisfied my mind on that point. 

Whether this case will contribute in the smallest 
degree to establish the Thomsonian system of prac- 
tice, here or elsewhere — whether the cause of truth 
and of suffering humanity will be subserved by its 
record ; whether the spark which was elicited by 
the genius of Thomson, shall continue to burn, and 
blaze, and spread, until it shall dissipate the mist and 
darkness of error which have been for more than two 
thousand years accumulating upon the science of me- 
dicine, are questions which time and the experience 
of mankind alone can decide. 

But it is said that the Thomsonian system is op- 
posed to science, and that must forever damn it in the 
opinion of the well-informed and scientific. We 
would, however, respectfully ask those who say this, 
What is science 7 If they administer a dose of ca- 
lomel or arsenic, or antimony, which they acknowledge 
to be poisons, and it kills the patient, is that science ? 
Or, if we administer a dose of Lobelia, Composition, 
or No. 6, and it relieves the patient, labouring under 
precisely the same kind of disease, is that not science 1 
These questions need no demonstration. They fur- 
nish their own answers. Science is truth, or that 
which enables us to discover truth. He, therefore, 
who is able to discover the true cause of disease, and 
to remove it, is certainly more scientific than he who 
can do neither. 

Here we might be asked in turn, if our medicines 
always cure disease 1 . To which we would frankly 
answer, no. Our medicines may be improperly ad- 
ministered — though none of them are poisonous — or 
the patient may be obstinate and inattentive to di- 
rections, and consequently they may and do sometimes 
fail in curing disease. 



316 APPENDIX. 

But let the issue be now joined between us, and let 
us come to the arguments, and we will then cheer- 
fully submit the case to the decision of the common 
sensed ; or, if more to the taste of gentlemen, to the 
scientific part of mankind. 

The medicines which they use, they acknowledge 
to be poisonous, but contend that it is sometimes ne- 
cessary to give poisons, because the human system, 
in its efforts to throw off the poison, relieves itself 
from, or throws off, at the same time, the cause of the 
disease. That, if the poison should not be thrown 
off, but is taken up by the system, it only produces 
another disease ; and, as there is a rule in the animal 
economy, that no two diseases can exist long in the 
same body, consequently the old disease is cured by 
creating a new one. Both these arguments remind 
us of the practice, said to exist among some of the 
Indian tribes, who, it is said, contend that, when they 
are fatigued with a load, the best way to rest them- 
selves is to take up some additional weight, to be car- 
ried some distance, and that, when that was thrown 
down, the original load, with which they had been 
fatigued before, appeared quite light and was easily 
carried ; and that, when they had a sore upon any 
part of the body, they burnt it, and turned it into a 
burn, in the treatment of which they professed to have 
great skill. Now, we will admit that they are some- 
times successful in curing disease, as the Indians are 
no doubt sometimes successful in curing their burns ; 
but we contend, and we believe that, when they come 
to understand the matter, or can take a real scientific 
view of it, they will agree with us, that, in all cases 
where a cure is effected at all, it is effected on the 
Thomsonian principles. Thomson, it is true, dis- 
cards the use of poisons, but his practice is entirely a 
stimulating one ; and, if poison should act as a sti- 



APPENDIX. 217 

mulant, and cause the system to throw off disease, 
the cure is entirely effected on Thomsonian principles. 
If they succeed in creating a disease, by poisoning 
the system, and thereby eradicate the original disease, 
they then have to stimulate, in order to relieve the 
patient from the effects of the poison. So, in either 
case, the cure is performed on Thomsonian prin- 
ciples. 

If they bleed, and it relieves a congestion, or an 
inflammation, it does it by its stimulating effect, and 
consequently it is performed on the Thomsonian 
principles : And so of dieting, and blistering, and 
cupping, and scarifying, and the thousand other bar- 
barous and Indian-like remedies, resorted to. They 
must all act either to produce a stimulating effect, or 
stimulants must be used to destroy the effect which 
they do produce, or no cure is performed; and, con- 
sequently, their cures are all performed, if performed 
at all, on the Thomsonian principles. 

Why, then, condemn Thomson for having disco- 
vered remedies which are much more sure, and 
certain to produce the desired effect, without the least 
tendency to produce the slightest deleterious effect! 

What is life! Certainly heat, or the effect of 
heat. Heat is said by philosophers to be the efficient 
cause of all things. If, then, we wish to preserve 
life, let us maintain the heat, which is the cause of 
life. There is no truth more simple, or plain, or 
scientific, than this, or its correlative truth, that the 
absence or deprivation of heat, produces death. These 
truths are immutable. They are co-existent and co- 
eternal, and will survive " the war of elements, the 
wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds." 

R. Moore. 
Meherrin, Mecklenburg Co., Va. 
November 24, 1834. 



218 APPENDIX. 

~ CASE XII. 

S.r- 

iS ■ 

Prom the Thomsonian Recorder. 
CASE OF CONSUMPTION. 
From a sense of duty to the suffering cause of hu- 
manity, a subscriber begs leave to offer for publicity, 
through the columns of your paper, a few interesting 
and encouraging facts, received from the lips of a 
gentleman of high respectability, residing in a west- 
ern state, whose heart has not ceased to beat with gra- 
titude for the restoration to health of a beloved wife 
and mother, who were snatched from the confines of 
an untimely grave. The substance of his statement, 
as near as recollected, was, That after a protracted 
decline, the sentence of " confirmed consumption'* 
was pronounced upon her case by the most skilful of 
the Medical Faculty in attendance, from one of the 
largest towns in the state ; and, from personal ac- 
quaintance of the writer with them, it is but justice 
to remark that they are *' not a whit behind the chief- 
est" of their Esculapian brethren in the west, and in 
some respects perhaps before them. For, with becom- 
ing frankness and candour, after their best resources 
and most efficient remedies had been put in fruitless 
requisition, they acknowledged that not the least hope 
could be consistently entertained of intercepting the 
fatal issue. Alike convinced that they were indeed 
" physicians of no value" to her, his suffering consort, 
urged by the irresistible claims of maternal affection, 
could not thus relinquish her feeble hold of existence, 
and, to his utter astonishment, appealed from their 
decision to the advice and prescriptions of a Thom- 
sonian steam doctor. Accustomed, as he had been 
hitherto, to regard the educated faculty as the legiti- 



APPENDIX. 219 

mate conservators of health, and no less to consider 
all others as dangerous innovators and enemies, he 
had imbibed the strongest prejudices against the Bo- 
tanic fraternity. With these impressions, his natural 
pride was deeply wounded at the thought, that an ob- 
scure, illiterate steam doctor should succeed the able 
efforts of these learned, scientific gentlemen, whose 
knowledge of the healing art it would be, in his esti- 
mation, little short of sacrilege to bring in question. 
But not so with his more reasonable and reflecting 
companion, whose confidence in Botanic remedies had 
received a favourable impulse by some well-grounded 
reports which had reached her ears, that they pos- 
sessed even the power to eradicate that most incu- 
rable of diseases, which she was conscious would, 
without the timely intervention of some such effica- 
cious means, soon consign her to the " narrow house" 
appointed for all living. Eager to embrace this " der- 
nier resort," she urged her suit as one pleading indeed 
for life ; and, after the severest struggle in his own 
mind, between pride, duty, and affection, he was so 
far overcome by the latter, that the degradation of em- 
ploying a steam doctor in his family was submitted to. 
With apparent diffidence the rustic substitute, when 
called to see the patient, acknowledged her case to be 
not only a difficult but a very doubtful one ; and on being 
pressed to speak without reserve, as to the possibility 
of a cure, he could only be prevailed with to attempt 
it, upon the express condition of implicit perseverance. 
" To the last," was the instant reply, at the top of her 
weak and feeble voice, which (although assured that 
it might require a long series of severe applications) 
was strictly adhered to on her part : but her skeptical 
spouse, who had relinquished none of his opposition 
to this absurd practice, as he termed it, at length began 
to remonstrate against proceeding any farther ; insist- 



220 APPENDIX. 

ing, and not without some show of reason, that if 
more than twenty operations, then already performed, 
had produced no obvious effect, it might well be in- 
ferred there was no efficacy in the system, and finally 
declared it was an imposition he could no longer suffer 
or endure. Still anxiously grasping after life, when 
a single ray seemed to glimmer in the horizon of hope, 
she most tenderly expostulated with her otherwise re- 
vered husband, reminding him that all her expectations 
were founded upon the strict observance of her pledge 
to persevere to the end ; and, to oblige her thus to 
abandon it, when a favourable crisis might be near at 
hand, (according as she had been taught to expect,) 
seemed still more unkind than his first refusal. Al- 
though constrained to admit that her health had not 
materially improved, she was, on the other hand; not 
a little encouraged by the striking fact- that it had 
undergone no sensible diminution : and again, when 
the quivering lips of this forlorn, but not disheartened 
woman, supplicated for even one week longer, to con- 
clude the course of Botanic treatment, he only con- 
sented to indulge her, on the ground of its being her 
last request, which, if refused, he could not but feel, 
might greatly imbitter the pangs of approaching sepa- 
ration. But what language can paint the bright pros- 
pects of joy that ere long (before the stipulated week 
expired) arose in his heart, where nothing but sorrow 
and gloom had so recently dwelt, as he beheld, while 
watching daily at her pillow, the changing symptoms, 
fully confirmed the confident declarations of her 
mouth, that the enemy was Tit last overcome, and the 
citadel of life and health retaken. As vainly might 
the writer attempt to describe the exultation of the 
happy man, while recounting the wonderful revolu- 
tions wrought in his own mind by the, renovating 
power of those previously undervalued means, which, 



APPENDIX. 221 

in the face of his own frenzied opposition, had re- 
stored to his own possession and enjoyment the great- 
est of all earthly blessings. The victory was indeed 
complete, and to finish the story in as few words as 
possible, let it be remembered, that in less than six 
weeks after the trial commenced, this condemned, dy- 
ing patient was able to sally forth on horseback the 
distance of more than a dozen miles, and actually to 
appear before and confront those knights of the lancet, 
whom she did not fail to compliment in her best (iron- 
ical) style for the eminent services they had rendered. 
Sure enough, the dead is alive, exclaimed the asto- 
nished gentlemen ; but tell us, we pray you tell us, 
by what means have you risen from that bed of death 1 
Brace up your nerves, she replied; you shall have 
the truth. As sure as I stand before you, medical 
gentlemen, who gave me over to die of consumption, 
the living witness of a perfect cure — know then, that 
I am exclusively indebted (as far as human agency 
was concerned) to that peculiar class of practitioners 
commonly termed Thomsonians or steam doctors, who 
have, I understand, received a very liberal share of 
ridicule and abuse at your scientific hands. But truth 
shall ultimately prevail ; and I beg you, gentlemen, 
also to bear in mind, that, at any time, one living fact 
is of more weight than fifty falsehoods twice told, 
however deadly they may be. 

In conclusion, the worthy gentleman, in extending 
the parting hand, expressed a hearty wish that it might 
be extensively known, that one of the most determined 
enemies of the Thomsonian system had become its 
firm, unshaken advocate and friend ; and, above air, 
that another trophy had been added to the imperisha- 
ble virtues of that system, in the effectual cure of 
" confirmed consumption." D. F. N. 



222 APPENDIX. 



CASE XIV. 
Caswell County, JV. C. Nov. 1, 1834. 
To the Editors: 

Gentlemen, — I hope you will give publicity, 
through the medium of your widely-circulated and 
useful paper, to the statement of facts herein set forth, 
which I have been induced to make, from the solicit- 
ations of my particular friends, and a desire on my 
part, that those individuals who may be so unfortu- 
nate as to be afflicted with that terrible disease called 
dyspepsia, might be led to try the same course of 
treatment, which has been so successful in the resto- 
ration of my health. According to my opinion there 
is not, within the wide range of human infirmities, a 
disease so well calculated to undermine the constitu- 
tion, for it assails the very throne of life, and renders 
earthly existence itself almost insupportable, insomuch 
that I consider whoever contributes to the removal of 
its distressing and baneful influence, has performed 
an important service to mankind; a service, too, 
which should be properly appreciated, and for which 
we should feel under many obligations. It is not my 
custom to appear before the public as a composer of 
newspaper communications in support of new theories 
in any of the sciences, nor would I, on this occasion, 
but to aid the cause of useful knowledge. 

In the commencement of the year 1830, my health 
began to decline. I looked upon it at first as a slight 
indisposition, that would soon disappear, and, there- 
fore, gave myself but little uneasiness about it. The 
symptoms, however, became more alarming, and I 
was forced at length to have recourse to medical as- 
sistance, and accordingly consulted the best regular 



APPENDIX. 223 

physicians in my reach ; who, I have no doubt, made 
the best exhibition of that skill for which they have 
been famed. But you may imagine my mortification 
and disappointment, when I discovered that that mode 
of treatment on which I had relied with so much confi . 
dence had entirely failed ; and, instead of recruiting 
my health and strength, as I had fondly hoped, I had 
become more enfeebled and emaciated. It was now 
clearly seen that I was an unfortunate and confirmed 
dyspeptic. In the latter part of the same year, the 
far-famed and much celebrated plan of Halstead 
reached this country ; and, as it promised a speedy 
and permanent relief to dyspeptics, I immediately de- 
termined to try it, And forthwith I repaired to 
Raleigh, to receive that course of treatment which it 
prescribed. The remedies at first seemed to be at- 
tended with favourable results, and I began to hail 
this as a fortunate era in the history of human afflic- 
tion. But, in a short time after my return home, the 
disease returned again with renewed force, and, in 
spite of all Halstead's remedies, prostrated me com- 
pletely. I now gave up all hope of relief from that 
source. I therefore returned to my former physician 
to consult him again, who advised me to make an 
experiment with the blue pills, and also to visit some 
of our watering-places. By the strenuous remon- 
strance of one of my intelligent friends, I declined all 
idea of the blue pills. In this stage of the disease, I 
was recommended to experiment the practice of me- 
dicine invented by Dr. Samuel Thomson ; but I had 
many objections to it ; chiefly on the score of unpo- 
pularity. I reflected ; siwely if this system of practice 
possessed any peculiar advantages in relieving the 
sick, how could it be possible that it should be so 
much ridiculed and vilified 1 But I soon found thac 



224 APPENDIX. 

my malady must be removed, or earthly popularity 
would avail me nothing. In this extremity I called 
on my brother, Anthony Williamson, who, a short 
time previous, had become a Thomsonian practitioner. 
He advised me to call in to his assistance the princi- 
pal agent of Dr. Thomson, at Hillsborough, who 
attended me immediately, and commenced a course 
of treatment in July, 1831. They continued to treat 
me about two months, which completely checked the 
ravages of my disease. My health and strength im- 
proved rapidly, and continues without much interrup- 
tion, although I frequently indulge in the use of food, 
that had previously seemed as poison to my stomach. 
My weight, at the time I commenced the use of the 
Thomsonian medicine, was about one hundred and 
sixty pounds. It is now, and has been for some time, 
from two hundred and ten to two hundred and twenty 
pounds. 

My health has been very good for the last two or 
three years, and still remains so ; for which I feel 
thankful to the Author of Beneficence, in developing 
the means which have afforded me such health. 

I am, gentlemen, yours, respectfully, 

Thomas Williamson. 



CASE XV. 

Tumour. — The following statement relative to John 
Pegg, who is a resident of Randolph county, Indiana, 
was given to me by himself; and to the best of my 
recollection is as follows : 

About fifteen years ago he discovered a small hard 
tumour about the size of half a pea, in the right arm- 
pit, which, on examination, appeared to be firmly at- 
tached to the main tendon of the arm. In a short 



APPENDIX. 225 

time after he first discovered it, it became somewhat 
painful ; its growth was regular, though not rapid ; 
and as the tumour increased in size, the pain also in- 
creased in the same ratio. 

In about seven years after its first appearance, it 
was grown so large as to completely fill the arm-pit; 
it forced the shoulder as much above a natural posi- 
tion as it would bear ; it also extended back and at- 
tached itself to the shoulder-blade, and protruded for- 
ward on the breast-bone considerably. During this 
interval he made many applications to it, but none of 
them appeared to check its growth. 

He then came to the determination to suffer an 
amputation of the affected part, and accordingly put 
himself into the hands of one of the most skilful 
surgeons in his knowledge, who performed the ope- 
ration on him ; in doing which, he took off a part of 
the shoulder-blade. 

The part amputated weighed one and one-fourth 
pounds; and on examination it appeared that the 
centre of the tumour, about the size of a hen's egg, 
was hard and brittle, and when the knife was forced 
into it, it bursted or cracked before the edge of the 
instrument. 

In about three months after the amputation was 
performed, it began to grOw again, and its progress 
was rapid in comparison to its growth before the am- 
putation was performed. He went back to the sur- 
geon, and he directed that there should be a plaster 
of cantharides applied, large enough to cover the af- 
fected part ; and when it had become completely blis- 
tered, to remove the blister and dress it with an oint- 
ment made by putting the cantharides into oil, until 
it was nearly strong enough to blister ; and as soon 
as it healed he was to apply the plaster again, and 

15 



226 APPENDIX. 

then dress with the same ointment. During the ap- 
plication of those external remedies, he was to take 
Fowler's solution of arsenic, in as large portions as 
would be considered safe. 

He pursued this course till he had blistered it seven 
or eight times, and then sent an account of his situa- 
tion to the surgeon, who returned him information 
that his case was a hopeless one, and that probably 
he would not survive a year. He then applied to 
other physicians, and had their judgments relative to 
his case ; and also attended a Medical Board, and was 
under examination the greater part of one day : it was 
their united opinion that his case was a hopeless one, 
and could not be cured. He then consulted about 
fifty of the most celebrated physicians of the old 
school, that were in the circle of his acquaintance, 
and it was their unanimous opinion that his case was 
an incurable one. They generally agreed in pro- 
nouncing it a cancer, or cancerous tumour ; though a 
few of them rather favoured the idea that it was a 
scrofulous or scorbutic affection. 

During this period he was making use of such ex- 
ternal applications as were from time to time recom- 
mended to him by the physicians, but none of them 
appeared to arrest the progress of the disease. After 
he quit following these prescriptions, he was strongly 
urged to make a full trial of Swaim's Panacea, which 
he accordingly commenced, and took twelve bottles; 
but it proved of no advantage to him. 

He then, (as is common in such desperate cases,) 
as his last resort, concluded to try the effect of Bo- 
tanic Medicine, and accordingly put himself under 
my care, in the fifth month, 1827. The tumour by 
this time had again completely filled the arm-pit, ex- 
tended considerably on the shoulder-blade, and also 
protruded forward on the breast-bone. The part of 



APPENDIX. 227 

the tumour that extended forward on the breast, I think 
was nearly as large as a man's two fists, and appeared 
to be as hard as a block of wood. The part in the 
arm-pit had projected out so far, that the skin had 
become dead, and was removed, presenting a bare sur- 
face as large as a French crown, from which exuded 
a small portion of excoriating matter. There was a 
great diminution of vitality in the arm and hand, 
which were invariably covered with a cold clammy 
sweat, so as frequently to stick to the fingers on being 
touched. The whole nervous system appeared to be 
much disordered, and when he was asleep the whole 
body was in one universal tremor. 

I commenced with giving him a tea of Dr. Thom- 
son^ Composition Powders, and half a teaspoonful 
of the Nerve-Powder, three times a day, for two days ; 
also, I made an external application to the tumour of 
slippery elm bark poultice, covering the poultice 
with good ginger, finely pulverized; and before I 
placed the poultice on the part, I put a small portion 
of best cayenne over the surface of the tumour. 

This poultice I renewed morning and evening ; and 
whenever I removed it, the parts were well washed 
with strong soapsuds, made of shaving soap. I also 
bathed the parts of the tumour that were not covered 
with the poultice, with No. 6, adding one-fourth part 
of spirits of turpentine, night and morning. 

On the third day after I commenced, I took him 
through a regular course of medicine; which I began 
by giving him a dose of Composition and Nerve-Pow- 
der. I then placed him over the steam, and kept him 
there about fifteen minutes ; still raising the internal 
heat as the warmth of the steam increased, by giving 
Composition, cayenne pepper, and pennyroyal. I 
then put him to bed, placed a hot stone to his feet, 
and gave him a teaspoonful of the Emetic Powder in 



228 APPENDIX. 

Composition, which was repeated every fifteen mi- 
nutes, increasing each dose half a teaspoonful till it 
operated. I also gave pennyroyal tea during the 
operation ; and after I had given the third portion of 
the emetic, gave him some milk porridge. After the 
emetic had operated, I let him remain in bed until re- 
covered from the fatigue of vomiting, still keeping the 
hot stone to the feet, and giving the Composition or 
cayenne pepper. 

After awaking from a nap of sleep, gave him a 
half teaspoonful of spice bitters ; then something to 
eat ; and in about ten or fifteen minutes took him up, 
placed him over the steam, and steamed him pretty 
highly for about fifteen or twenty minutes. Towards 
the latter part of the time, while he was over the 
steam, threw some vinegar on the stone, and then 
washed him off with cold water, with about a half a 
pint of good vinegar added thereto. This part of the 
operation was varied in after courses, as in probably 
more than half of them he was showered. This was 
performed after I thought he had been long enough 
over the steam, by first washing his face with cold 
water; then taking about one gallon and a half of 
cold water, and half a pint of vinegar, and pouring it 
on the back of the neck and shoulders, so as to run 
all over the body ; he was then wiped dry and dressed ; 
and commonly sat up the most of the day after he 
had been taken through an operation. I repeated the 
operation or course of medicine, above described, 
every other day for one week, still making the same 
external applications as above described. I then took 
him through a course of medicine every third day, 
steaming and showering him occasionally between 
the courses, which were continued for two weeks. 

After the first operation, on dressing the tumour, I 
discovered that the operation had caused it to run con- 



APPENDIX. 229 

siderably ; and steaming, without a regular course, 
produced the same effect more or less. 

About the end of the second week there appeared 
a disposition in the ulcer to heal, and I applied pearl- 
ash to it, after washing it, and then added the poul- 
tice above described. In three weeks the tumour was 
perceptibly less ; at which time he went home. I fur- 
nished him with medicine and directions ; he also ob- 
taining a right to use them himself. 

He still made the same external application for 
three months, when he came again to my residence. 
He informed me that he had been frequently applied 
to by the sick for relief, and he had attended on them 
with good success ; consequently his own case be- 
came much neglected, and he had been two weeks at 
a time without a course of medicine. By this time 
I think the tumour was reduced one-fourth in size, 
and the ulcer disposed to heal under the application 
of the pearlash. I then advised the Cancer Plaster 
made of clover heads, which was . continued for five 
or six weeks after his return home, at which time I 
visited him, and found that it was inclined to heal 
under the application of the plaster. I put butternut 
bark to it, which blistered it ; after which it was 
dressed with the elm, ginger, and cayenne. The but- 
ternut bark was applied several times in the course of 
six or eight months, whenever it was disposed to heal. 
During this time he had frequent calls to attend on 
other patients, and his case was much neglected, not 
taking a course of medicine oftener than once in six 
or eight weeks. 

The tumour, however, became reduced to half its 
former size, and more and more neglected, when I re- 
commended the application of the sorrel-salve, which 
reduced the tumour faster than any thing which had 
preceded it. It was late in the fall, when he could 



230 APPENDIX. 

procure but little of the sorrel, and his stock of salve 
became exhausted. For some time he had not gone 
through a course of medicine oftener than once in 
three or four months. His practice still increasing, 
his attention to himself decreased in the same pro- 
portion. 

During the course of this winter he attended to 
the practice, paying some little attention to himself. 
By spring, when I saw him again, the tumour was 
about three-fourths gone; that season he procured 
more of the sorrel salve, and completed his cure ; be- 
ing two years and a half from his first commencement 
with me. 

When the tumour first began to decrease, it gradu- 
ally receded from the extremities towards the centre, 
or seat in the arm-pit, and it continued to decrease in 
this way ; and by keeping a discharge of matter from 
the seat in the arm-pit, the solid or hard part Was car- 
ried off by suppuration. 

I visited him about twelve months after his cure 
was effected, and he told me that he believed the 
cause was entirely removed ; and he further observed, 
that he at all times felt an uneasy sensation attending 
the parts that had been affected ; but it was his de- 
cided opinion, that those uneasy sensations had their 
origin entirely from the amputation of a part of the 
shoulder-blade, &c, as aforesaid, and not from any 
effects of the tumour. 

My own opinion relative to the case is, that if he 
had been carried through a regular course of medi- 
cine as often as would have been advantageous to 
him, and applied the sorrel salve at the commence- 
ment, that his cure might probably have been effected 
in less than one year. 

Daxiel Kindley. 



APPENDIX. 231 

From the Recorder. 
CASE XVI. 

Messrs. Editors : — I have, for some time, thought 
I would give some account of my stewardship, but 
have hitherto been prevented, through a multiplicity 
of business. Our cause is still on the rising hand. 
People are still flocking to the Botanic standard reared 
in Kentucky. My practice, through last season, was 
very extensive, and scattered over a large tract of 
country, which has enabled me to treat diseases of al- 
most every character common to our state and clime, 
and I think I may safely say, that, during the past 
season, more than one hundred cases of fever, and 
some of the most malignant type, came under my 
treatment, with the loss of but two patients out of 
that number. I mention this, in reference to the 
success of the M. D.'s, and the success to which we 
have hitherto been accustomed. 

I will mention one case worthy of notice : — Mrs. 
Dickinson, a respectable lady of this county, had been 
sick for the last twenly-five years. On the first of 
March last, I was called to see her, and found her in 
quite a hopeless condition. On learning the history 
of her case, I found she was first a victim to dyspep- 
sia, but her disease had now spread to nearly the ut- 
most extent of nosology ; no doubt occasioned by the 
variety and quantity of medicines she had taken, as I 
was the seventeenth physician employed in her case. 
When I was called on, her medicines were four 
ounces of calomel, four ounces of rhubarb, and four 
ounces of jalap and aloes, formed into large pills. 
These, with a bottle of oil, had constituted her medical 
treatment for the preceding four months. As Thom- 
sonians may well suppose, I immediately changed her 
treatment, and gave liberally of our warming medi- 



232 AfPENDI^. 

cines for two weeks, when she was carried through a 
full course. While under the operation of the emetic 
the first time, she was thrown into the alarming 
symptoms, so called ; but she soon revived, the emetic 
operated kindly, disease was overcome, and she speed- 
ily recovered the enjoyment of a boon long lost to 
her, good health, and strength to attend to her house- 
hold avocations. From Mrs. D.'s own statement, she 
has done more labour during last summer and fall, 
than for fifteen previous years. 

I am not alone in the field of reform ; others 
around me are practising with equal success. The 
Rev. G. Rush has done much for our cause. He is a 
man of hold, intrepid mind, attacking all forms of 
disease, and with the utmost success. Notwithstand- 
ing the numerous evidences of the efficiency and 
safety of our botanic remedies, we have some in this 
section, no doubt, would rather have death at the 
hands of the M. D.'s, than life and health at tho 
hands of a " detestable steam doctor," the gentle- 
manly appellation frequently given us. 

J. H. Harris. 

Elkton, Todd county, Ky., Jan. 4, 1835. 



CASE XVII. 

For the Recorder. 

Monticello, (Ala.) Nov. 20, 1834. 
A Miracle! — About the 13th of August last, 
my sister, Leanah Beckworth, was taken with fever. 
On the 14th we gave her calomel, which operated in 
the usual way. On the 1 7th, she was stricken with 
numb or dead palsy ; one-half, viz., the left, was mo- 
tionless, pulseless, and destitute of feeling. Knowing 
that the mineral doctors did not profess to cure palsy, 
we concluded to send for what is called a steam doo 



APPENDIX, 233 

tor, hearing one say previously that the Thomsonian 
system had cured palsy and disease in all various 
forms. I went for Dr. Thomason, of Monticello : he 
gave me medicine and directions, and came to see her 
the next morning himself. We gave her the medi- 
cine during the pight, which gave her some relief. 
We continued to give and apply the medicine exter- 
nally. In an hour or two after he arrived, she could 
begin to raise her arm a little. In a short time she 
could move her leg, and pulsation had returned, to 
our great astonishment. And, by the use of the me- 
dicine, (which he said was entirely Thomsonian,) 
she in a short time was restored to perfect health and 
strength, and is much stouter now than before her 
affliction. 

Richard Beckworth. 

The above statement, respecting the affliction and 
cure of my daughter, Leanah Beckworth, is correct. 
The medicine that effected the cure, I know not; it 
is a new medicine to me. Thomason called it Thom- 
sonian medicine. My daughter is much stouter now 
than she was twelve months previous to her affliction, 
and has equally as good use of her left side (which 
is the one that was apparently dead) as she has of 
the right. 

James Beckworth. 

The medicines, used in the above case, viz. : 1 
ounce .Third Preparation of No. 1, given during the 
night in tea-spoonful doses, repeated every fifteen mi- 
nutes ; Composition tea, with No. 2 freely ; Pepper 
Sauce and Bathing Drops, used externally, with con- 
siderable friction ; hot rocks of course around her : 
Third Preparation and umbil was continued. I di- 
rected them to carry her through a course of medicine, 



234 APPENDIX. 

and then use the bitters freely, not forgetting Nos. 2 
and 3. It is impossible for me to give the particulars 
of the above case, as I was not there until the next 
morning, and soon after I arrived was prostrated my- 
self, and was conveyed home in a carriage the same 
night. 

John TThomason. 



CASE XVIII. 

From the Thomsonian Recorder. 
Norfolk, (Va.) Infirmary, Jan. 9, 1835. 
Gentlemen : — During the year 1834, we have re- 
ceived more than six hundred patients, exhibiting the 
greatest variety of disease : with the exception of about 
thirty, all of them had previously tried the mineral 
practice. Ten have died out of the six hundred : — their 
diseases were, consumption, dropsy, and cholera. Of 
the remaining five hundred and ninety, some of them 
left us without fairly testing the system, and have since 
died ; but the greater part were entirely relieved and 
cured. Some of the cases cured, we really consider 
wonderful. Perhaps we should do injustice to the 
founder of this distinguished botanic system, were we 
not to give a short history here of one or two of our 
most notable cases : — One of our patients, a young 
man of twenty-five years, had lost the use of himself 
entirely for two years, from his arms down to the ex- 
tremities. We believed, with the regular physicians 
who previously attended him, that the cause of his 
disease was in the spinal bone. There was a projec- 
tion in the spine between the shoulder blades, of at 
least four inches, forming a complete curve in the 
back of six inches. There was not the least sensibi- 
lity from the curvature down. The absorbents had 
lost all action, and the thighs and legs presented a 



APPENDIX. 235 

most pitiful aspect, being shrivelled and dry, exhibit- 
ing nothing but a hard, dry skin and bone. We 
pricked them with a needle and penknife, without 
producing any feeling whatever. The anus was dis- 
tended more than an inch, and remained so for three 
months, the trunk very much swollen, liver, stomach, 
kidneys, and bladder, all horribly diseased. There 
seemed to be no action in the intestines ; in fact, we 
believe the whole internal viscera was deeply diseased. 
It is impossible for us to detail his case. He received, 
however, not the least benefit from the old practice, 
but grew worse. Setons, blisters, and bleeding, with 
the most powerful purgatives, availed no good. We 
administered 200 powerful injections, before he was 
aware, from sensibility, that he had ever received 
one ; nor did he know, for three months after we com- 
menced with him, when he had an evacuation from 
the bowels, although, by injections, the bowels were 
daily evacuated. Many curious lumps and balls of 
canker were passed, both from the stomach and 
bowels. Some of them precisely the form of the in- 
testines. After administering 66 faithful Thomson- 
ian courses, 300 sweats, and being enveloped in herbs 
of different kinds often, and having a constant ap- 
plication to the spinal projection, made of Nerve Oint- 
ment, Tincture of Lobelia, and No. 6, equal parts, 
applied in a flannel bag of herbs, anointing with oil, 
&c. — the patient was restored to health, and could at- 
tend to business. In six months after we undertook 
him, he joyfully returned home. The spinal projec- 
tion was reduced to half an inch, legs and thighs en- 
tirely restored, and the patient enabled to walk well. 

Another cure we thought equally astonishing. A 
lady, aged forty-four years, had been afflicted with fits 
for nearly five years. She had received the aid of the 
best medical men in our state, but grew worse. 



236 , APPENDIX. 

When we received her, in January, 1834, she was 
expecting her last attack, having been told by her phy- 
sicians that she could not survive another. The 
attacks returned every three or four weeks. She had 
never less than thirty fits at one time, and very fre- 
quently as many as Jive hundred. Her digestive 
powers were nearly destroyed. A piece of flour 
bread as large as a nutmeg, or a piece of the breast 
of a turkey; or, in fact, any other food, not liquid, 
would certainly produce violent spasms. The senses 
were all much impaired ; the sight nearly gone, and 
the whole body much swollen. Obstructions were 
general, and, really, her worn-out, emaciated appear- 
ance, was enough to dampen the spirits of the most 
sanguine botanic physician. We, however, under- 
took her, promising nothing ; and, remarkable to say, 
in nine weeks, Mrs. Beazley was entirely restored to 
health ; was reduced in size eight inches, and left us 
with the rose upon her cheek, weighing several 
pounds more than when she came. She never had 
a fit after we commenced with her, nor has she had 
one since. 

We could mention many more very remarkable 
cases, but forbear for the present. 

We are, most respectfully, yours, 

Thomas Nash and 
E. A. Tatem, 

Practitioners. 
Geo. K. Hooper, 
Superintendent of the Virginia Infirmary. 



APPENDIX. 237 

CASES XIX., XX., XXI., & XXII. 

From the Recorder. 
Four interesting cases — Dropsy, Apoplexy, Puer- 
peral, and Fever, 

Messrs. Editors : — Since my last communica- 
tion, my practice has continued to be very extensive, 
so much so, that during the last year I attended one 
hundred and six families, and the calls were so nume- 
rous during the sickly season, that I had to refuse 
many of them. I will mention a few cases, with their 
treatment. One case among many, was a young lad 
with the dropsy. His situation, when I was first called 
in, was very alarming. His friends and neighbours 
had collected to witness his death, which had been 
expected for three days. On examination, I thought his 
case a very hopeless one. He was much swollen, even 
to the extremities. Severe pain in the chest, trouble- 
some cough, bowels costive, and he had to be bolstered 
up, to prevent strangulation. Considering his despe- 
rate situation, I very reluctantly consented to prescribe. 
I, however, ordered five portions of the warming me- 
dicines to be given, for two days ; the third day took 
him through a course of medicine ; the next day gave 
him a strong decoction of peach tree bark, taken from 
the young sprouts, until it operated freely upon his 
bowels; continued the heating medicine, but changed 
the manner of preparing it. Instead of mixing the 
medicine with clear boiling water, I prepared a strong 
tea of common parsley, and to this added Composi- 
tion, &c. I continued the courses of medicine every 
two or three days, but would sometimes omit the 
emetic. Every third day, I gave him the peach bark 
decoction until it operated freely upon the bowels. 
After the fourth course of medicine, I had to adminis- 
ter them less frequently, and discontinue the peach 



233 APPENDIX. 

bark decoction, as he appeared to be fast sinking 
away. His evacuations were extraordinary, amount- 
ing to from 20 to 30 watery stools in 24 hours. His 
natural urinary discharges were not less frequent. In 
three weeks, he was truly a piteous object to behold. 
The swelling had disappeared as low as the thighs ; 
below, the swelling had increased ; but in six weeks 
it was nearly all gone, except in the feet ; these con- 
tinued a little swollen. His appearance now, was 
that of a living skeleton. I continued the use of 
stimulants and tonics, and in a few weeks he was so 
far restored to health, as to go where he pleased. He 
soon became imprudent, refused to take medicine, 
exposed himself, took a relapse, and died in a short 
time. I did hot see him after the relapse, but his 
friends unanimously attribute his death to his impru- 
dence. I would recommend a free use of the decoction 
of peach bark in all dropsical cases, as I believe it to 
be one of the best diuretics that ever was given. 

The second case I shall mention, was an apoplectic 
fit. The patient, a negro, was struck down while at 
work in the field, speechless and senseless. I was 
called about sunset, and ordered a tub of warm water, 
placed him in a chair with his feet in the water, threw 
a blanket around him, and commenced giving him 
No. 2, and Nerve-Powder, and continued it until he 
began to perspire. I then gave him the third prepa- 
ration of No. 1, in tablespoonful doses, which, in a 
short time, produced vomiting; after which, he could 
be roused to notice objects, and could articulate a few 
words. I kept the water in the tub as warm as he 
could bear it, by adding boiling water occasionally, but 
was prevented steaming him and giving a full course, 
for the want of rocks and bricks. The general ab- 
sence of rocks and bricks in the country where I 
reside, frequently embarrasses me, and prevents my 



APPENDIX. 239 

administering the Thorssonian remedies in the man- 
ner I would prefer ; a difficulty I presume few Thom- 
sonians have to contend with. I managed, however, 
in this case, to keep up a perspiration nearly all night, 
making a free use of the third preparation of No. 1. 
I gave tablespoonful doses, and vomited him occasion- 
ally through the night, and in the morning an active 
portion of vegetable pills. He was much relieved, 
could converse, and on the third day after the fit, was 
so far recovered as to wish to go to work, which his 
master would not permit him to do. He has had no 
symptoms of a return of the disease, and it is now 
about eight months since the attack. 

The third case was a negro woman, who had lost 
the use of her limbs from the hips down, in conse- 
quence of taking cold the third day after she was 
confined in child-birth, which entirely suspended the 
evacuations and discharges that necessarily attend 
such cases. I was called in two weeks after the above 
had taken place, and found her in a dreadful situa- 
tion. She had very little use of her lower extremities, 
could not walk a step, and when raised up, could not 
stand erect. Her abdomen was much swollen, and 
very hard. I commenced the treatment by giving her 
warming medicines a few hours ; then gave a course 
of medicine ; bathed her abdomen with No. 6 ; ap- 
plied a catnip poultice, and prepared a decoction of 
witch hazel, with a small proportion of No. 6 and the 
Tincture of Lobelia, and ordered it to be injected into 
the vagina three times a day, and repeated the full 
courses of medicine every other day ; bathing and 
changing the poultices twice a day, keeping up the 
internal heat with warming medicines between the 
courses. In about ten days her abdomen broke both 
internally and externally, and discharged a quantity 
of ripe matter. The neighbour women who called to 



240 ArPENDIX. 

see her, all affirmed they had never witnessed a like 
case, and that she must die. The external aperture 
was in her left flank, and of the size of the palm of 
my hand. I first washed the sore with soapsuds, then 
with a tea of witch hazel, No. 6, and the Tincture of 
Lobelia combined, and dressed it with healing salve, 
keeping up the internal heat, and repeating the courses 
of medicine every three or four days. In about six 
weeks the entire cure was performed, and the balance 
of the year she was able to labour as usual. 

The fourth was a case of fever; a boy six years 
old, son of Mr. Levi Harrison. I was sent for several 
days befure I could attend, on account of other en- 
gagements. When I arrived, the child was supposed 
to be dying, by the neighbours assembled. Mr. Har- 
rison thought it useless to administer medicine, but 
consented, when I informed him that if no good re- 
sulted, no harm should be done. The boy had lain 
from 1 P. M. until sunset, without any motion of the 
eyelids. I prepared an injection, adding a large por- 
tion of Lobelia seed, and administered it. In five 
minutes he winked, and showed some little signs of 
returning animation. Another injection was in a 
short time given, which, in about half an hour, ope- 
rated as an emetic, and also produced a motion of the 
bowels. He now began to revive, and we continued 
giving medicines and nourishment by injection, until 
he became able to swallow and take a little through 
the mouth ; but the principal reliance was on the 
injections. By a perseverance in the use of medi- 
cines and nourishment, an entire cure was effected, 
to the astonishment of all acquainted with "the hopeless 
situation of the boy, when I commenced the Thomsb- 
nian treatment. But I must close. The above narra- 
tive of facts is at your disposal. B. G. Kex. 

Montgomery county, Ala., April 18, 1S35. 



APPENDIX. 241 

CASE XXIII. 

Hydrophobia. — On the first day of January, 1831, 
a mad dog came upon the premises of Josiah Clark, 
of Columbia, Hamilton county, Ohio, about seven 
miles from Cincinnati, after passing through the 
neighbourhood ; and was known to bite nine animals, 
viz. : — five dogs, a cat, one cow, and two horses ; all 
of which went mad; some within about thirty days, 
and the last, a year old colt, belonging to Josiah 
Clark, about the middle of June. Josiah Clark re- 
ceived a wound on the hand, on the first day of Fe- 
bruary, by the tooth of a mad horse, which belonged 
to himself, while endeavouring to drench it with me- 
dicine. The creature died the next day. He sus- 
pected no danger from the wound, as it was soon 
healed up. 

But some time in May he had some strange feel- 
ings, when on the water, being a fisherman by occu- 
pation. By the advice of some of his friends, he 
called on Dr. S. Tibbets, of Cincinnati, who gave 
him some of the third preparation of Thomson, which 
relieved him for that time. But several times in the 
month of June, he was seized suddenly with fits of 
trembling, and a strange sensation of fear, when the 
wind blew so as to cause the boat to rock on the 
waves ; and he sometimes queried with himself whe- 
ther it was possible he could be afraid of the water ; 
and that, at times, when no thought of hydrophobia 
occurred to his mind. He felt also, as if the rays of 
light, reflected from the waves when the sun was 
shining, sent through him sensations of peculiar hor- 
ror, and he was sometimes obliged to go on shore and 
remain a while to gain composure. 

These symptoms rather increased on the whole till 
the tenth day of July when he felt much worse than 

16 



242 APPENDIX. 

at any time before, and found he was rapidly growing 
worse. Being at Cincinnati that day, he went up 
home in a skiff, and undertook to row, but soon found 
himself unable to endure the exertion or the sight of 
the water. He then lay down, was covered up> and 
rowed home by his company. He retired to bed, but 
spent a dreadful night; a painful twitching of the 
muscles of the limbs, and lancinating pains darting 
From the hand which had been wounded, up to the 
breast, and throat ; the glands of which had now be- 
come very sore and swollen. 

He sometimes fell asleep, but was suddenly awaked 
by such frightful dreams as seemed to fill his soul with 
inexpressible horror. And all these symptoms were 
growing worse constantly. In the morning his family 
were terrified at his condition, and all his friends 
concluded he had now got the hydrophobia; and all 
thought it best that he should go immediately to Cin- 
cinnati, to obtain medical aid. Accordingly he started 
on horseback, but very soon found that he could not 
endure the motion of the horse. He was then laid 
down in a skiff, and covered up and taken down by 
his friends within about two miles of town, when, on 
passing a steamboat, which was ascending the river, 
it produced such a commotion of the water, he could 
no longer endure the motion of the boat. He was 
then landed and went up the bank, and was about 
going into a blacksmith's shop occupied by his bro- 
ther-in-law ; but when he came before the doou and 
caught the rays of light from the fire, he suddenly 
started back in great distress; and it was not in his 
power to enter while the fire was in blast. — He then 
came on foot, attended by his friends, to the house of 
Mr. Steel, his brother-in-law, in Cincinnati. 

His symptoms had now become so bad that ail 
were nearly despairing of help ; they supposed the 



APPENDIX. 243 

Thomsonian medicine, which he had taken some 
weeks before, had failed. Colonel M'Farland went to 
Professor Morehead, and related the case, who gave 
it as his decided opinion, that it was a clear and con- 
firmed case of hydrophobia, and nothing could be 
done for him ; and he did not think it worth while to 
go and see him, as there was no known remedy for 
the disease. 

Isaiah Clark, brother of Josiah, went to Professor 
Cobb, and related the case to him : he expressed the 
same opinion an every respect as Dr. Morehead. 

Dr. Tibbets was then sent for, who came, and com- 
menced giving him the Third Preparation ; which 
soon had the effect to allay, in a good measure, the 
excessive irritation of the nervous system ; but such 
was the difficulty he laboured under in swallowing, 
that administration by injections was chiefly depended 
on. The medicine operated freely, and he emitted 
from his stomach a great quantity of a very tough 
and viscid mucus, which might be raised on a stick 
two feet, without separating from that which remained 
in the vessel ; and much that passed from his bowels 
was of a similar consistency. 

After puking, his stomach settled, and he was 
steamed. — The perspiration was copious and free. 
He was washed off, and felt much more composed for 
a short time, and slept about an hour ; when he be- 
gan to be disturbed again by frightful dreams, and all 
the nervous and spasmodic affections which he had 
previously felt. The same medicine was given again 
as before, with the same effect. Steaming, again, 
was followed by a short and quiet sleep; but the 
spasmodic twitching of the muscles of the legs and 
arms, was all the time visible to the spectators when 
they were uncovered. 

About twenty-four hours had been consumed in 



244 APPENDIX. 

the two courses and before I saw the patient. Dr. 
Tibbets came to my house the first day for me ; but I 
was out of town. When I saw him first, he seemed 
composed in mind, but felt all the former symptoms 
returning; he was thirsty, and desired water, but 
could not take a swallow without violent shudderings 
of the whole system, and painful sensations ; but 
none of these unequivocal symptoms of the disease 
were as strong this day as they were the first, before 
he took medicine ; but he seemed to grow worse every 
moment till medicine was given again. And the 
same course was pursued for eight days in succession, 
in which time he passed through sixteen courses. 
His intervals of repose were now so much longer, 
that one course in twenty-four hours seemed suffi- 
cient; and the treatment was pursued at this rate for 
eight days more. He then passed a day and night, 
taking small doses of medicine, which seemed to keep 
the disease in check without producing vomiting. In 
a few days more he went home, but continued to take 
medicine whenever he felt symptoms of the disease re- 
turning ; taking a full course occasionally when 
smaller doses did not prove sufficient. Thus the 
dreadful malady seemed to wear off very slowly. 

About the first of September he began to grow so 
impatient and discouraged that He went to a German 
doctor, who boasted confidently of superior skill in 
curing hydrophobia. After taking his medicine fo a 
few days, he fancied himself much better; but on 
taking a slight cold the old symptoms began to return, 
and his new medicine had lost its effect. He sent for 
his German doctor, but he could do no more. He 
was obliged, therefore, to resort again to the Third 
Preparation, which was .still true to its trust, imme- 
diately giving relief; and until I last heard from him, 



APPENDIX. 245 

which was some time in December, the evidence of a 
radical cure grew stronger. 

I will remark, as I learned from Dr. Tibbets, that 
the pulse, when he first saw him, was very rapid, small, 
and irregular, and recognised with difficulty oh ac- 
count of the strong vibratory action of the tendons. 
Two hours after, when he was under the full opera- 
tion of medicine, the pulse became full and strong, and 
numbered about forty in a minute ; and this curiosity 
was observable eveiy day : after his intervals of re- 
pose, when the morbid symptoms were increasing, the 
pulse grew rapid, feeble, and irregular, until medicine 
was given sufficient to check the progress of the dis- 
ease. ; and when under the full operation of medicine, 
and the morbid symptoms were least observable, it 
was full and strong, and numbered from forty to fifty 
in a minute. 

I will now notice several arguments, which have 
been made use of by the enemies of the Botanic Sys- 
tem, to destroy the influence of this extraordinary 
cure. 

Dr. Drake, who had not expressed his opinion on 
the case until he had seen the result often days treat- 
ment, felt himself at liberty to differ from those who 
had decided without this advantage ; and assigned, as 
one reason for his opinion, the idea that the herbiver- 
ous animals cannot communicate the disease. He 
was then asked if Josiah Morehead, who died of hy- 
drophobia under his own care, about two months be- 
fore, had the hydrophobia. He replied in the affirm- 
ative; and added, the case of Morehead being under his 
own eye, he knew it to be a clear and unequivocal case ; 
and differed not in symptoms, character, progress, and 
termination, from hydrophobia. He was then reminded 
that Morehead imbibed the disease by handling the 
hide of a cow that died mad ; or, rather, by render- 



246 APPENDIX. 

ing out the tallow of the same cow, he burnt his 
hand, which caused a bad sore that remained till he 
died ; and this appeared to be the seat of infection ; 
and it was never known that he had been exposed 
any other way. The doctor replied it was not known 
how Morehead imbibed the disease, but it was a cer- 
tainty that he had it. So we would say in the case 
of Clark ; if it were demonstrated that the herbiver- 
ous animals cannot communicate the disease, we do 
not know how he imbibed the disease, unless it were 
by the circumstance that his own dog, while raving 
under the influence of the disease, jumped and 
snapped at him, at the same time blowing a full 
blast of breath witlr saliva, in his face, through a 
crack of his pen ; which caused him to feel a strong 
sense of nausea at the stomach, and produced some 
blister-like eruptions on his face. But we cannot 
allow Dr. Drake any credit for arguments in this case, 
which he counted of no weight in the others, where 
they were equally applicable. Another argument, as- 
signed by the doctor, was, that this case did not pro- 
gress and terminate like hydrophobia ; and there was 
no case recorded in any history, in which the pro- 
gress of the disease had been stayed like this. But 
we cannot give him any great credit for this argu- 
ment, unless he will produce a record of some case 
to his purpose under this mode of treatment. We 
think it rather hard and unreasonable that we cannot 
be permitted to prove that we can cure hydrophobia ; 
except we first prove the disease to be genuine, by 
the fact of its terminating in death. There is a very 
wide difference between our system and that of the 
mineral doctors in this respect : our chance of suc- 
cess would be materially diminished after death ; 
while theirs would remain just the same after death 
as before. But if death is to be the only criterion of 



APPENDIX. 247 

the disease, we will venture to say that a genuine case 
of hydrophobia shall never occur, where our system 
is applied before the utter prostration of the vital 
powers, and is followed up with proper attention and 
perseverance. 

Dr. Cobb was expressing his opinion of the case 
with great confidence, in the hearing of a gentleman, 
who knew that Mr. Clark was under the Thomsonian 
treatment ; but the doctor did not know it. The gen- 
tleman informed him of the fact ; and asked him 
what he would think, if the patient should be cured 
by that treatment 1 ? The doctor replied, that he 
should be convinced that all who thought it to be hy- 
drophobia were deceived. Thus we see the ground 
they take would render it impossible, even for Omni- 
potent power, to prove a cure. 

War. Ripley. 

P. S. That it may be clearly understood what, and 
how much, is comprehended in this account, as a 
course of medicine, I will here state it more explicitly. 
Whenever the returning symptoms of the disease be- 
came evident, a small dose of Third Preparation was 
given, which always gave some partial relief, but of 
short continuance ; then a larger dose was given, and 
soon repeated ; next, more was given by injection, and 
so on ; when the operation was over, then steaming 
and washing finished the course. 

The medicine was not given with a very sparing 
hand ; the Composition Tea and valerian were used 
freely ; and I judge from four to six ounces of undi- 
luted Third Preparation were used in every twenty- 
four hours during the first eight days. 



248 APPENDIX. 

CASE XXIV. 

Very Important Case. 

To Dr. F. Plummer ': 

Sir, — As there is considerable excitement respect- 
ing the Thomsonian system at this time, I consider it 
a duty I owe to you, as the General Agent for Dr. 
Thomson, to state the following particulars of my 
own case. In the winter of 1831, I caught a severe 
cold, and suffered much from the then prevailing dis- 
ease, influenza, which I imprudently neglected, and 
took a fresh cold ; after which, my blood was pro- 
nounced to be in a very bad state, from frequent 
eruptions on the skin. I was recommended Swaim's 
Panacea, and took 13 bottles to no benefit. In the 
spring of 1832 one of my eyes became very much 
inflamed and painful. I sent for a physician, who 
immediately bled me, and ordered an application of 
70 leeches, which was done. But my arms and legs 
soon began to ulcerate ; the pain and inflammation 
was so great that I was fearful of losing both my legs. 
I continued in this way until June ; when I applied 
to a surgeon doctor of this city, who said that I had 
scrofulous sore legs ; and he performed thirty -four 
operations on them from one to two hours each, and 
burnt the ulcers with caustic. I became so much 
worse under his treatment, and my sores were so 
offensive, that he advised me to go to the sea-shore, 
where I remained some time without any improve- 
ment. I suffered so much with pain, loss of sleep, 
and severe dieting, that life became a burden. I was 
then recommended to try a celebrated doctor in New 
Jersey, and my father, with considerable difficulty, 
conveyed me to his house, one hundred and twenty 
miles from Philadelphia. I remained with him from 
October 10th 1832, to March, 1833, when I returned 



APPENDIX. 249 

home without any hopes of ever getting well. Being 
yet willing to try, I again applied to a physician, who 
continued to blister and physic me for four months to 
no advantage; I then discharged him, and determined 
to never again have one of the faculty, having already 
spent a large sum of money, with all my pain and 
sufferings, without any benefit. I was now ready to 
try any thing but (what Dr. Waterhouse, late Profes- 
sor of Materia Medica in the University of Cambridge, 
calls) " learned quackery !" I again took Swaim's 
Panacea, and all the nostrums of the day ; I read 
Morison's Book of Cures by his pills, and determined 
to try them. I was in a weak state, and had more 
than forty ulcers on each leg. I commenced with five 
No. 1's, and then five No. 2's. and continued taking 
those pills according to directions, until I had got as 
high as fifty-one pills at a time, which did me no 
good, but added to my affliction a distressing hemorr- 
hoid. I continued in this way until February, 1834, 
when I lost all use of my limbs. I could not turn 
myself in bed without assistance, and my mother had 
to feed me, for I could not raise my hand to my 
mouth if it were to save my life, caused by the severe 
manner I had been operated upon, blistered, physicked, 
and dieted, that I was tired of life. 

In this deplorable situation I sent for Dr. Plummer, 
who commenced with me on the 27th of February. 
After taking three courses of medicine, I was able to 
walk down stairs. I then thought if he could cure 
me of so severe pains, he could heal my legs. But 
he thought them a difficult case. I was so much 
benefited, that I went to the infirmary to board, and 
sometimes took two and three courses of medicine a 
week, and had every attention that my case required, 
and I began to mend fast. I then bought the right 
of the medicine, and administered it to myself at 



250 APPENDIX. 

home ; and got so well, that I neglected myself and 
took a relapse. I again went to the Infirmary and 
stayed until I got completely well. I am now well and 
able to attend to my business ; and, had it not been 
for the knife and caustic, I should scarcely have had 
a scar ; but, as it is, I can show lots of them. If any 
persons wish to inform themselves more particularly 
of myself or of my case, they can by calling at my 
brother's, No. 40 Chestnut street. I have taken 
seventy-five courses of medicine, and never felt so 
near dying in the whole of them, as I did when the 
knife, caustic, and the probe of the doctor were enter- 
ing my flesh. Many have been witnesses of my case ; 
and, if any wish, they can see me as above. 

Sir, you are at liberty to make any use of this you 
please. Very respectfully, S. H. R. 

Philadelphia, July 25th, 1835. 

P. S. Scores of respectable persons can testify to 
the truth of this extraordinary triumph of our practice 
over quackery. F. Plummer. 



CASE XXV. 

Case of White Swelling in the right ankle. 

On the 24th of October, 1833, 1 was called to see 
the son of Thomas Everet, a respectable farmer of this 
county, (Davidson, Tenn.) seven miles from Nash- 
ville. Mr. Everet informed me that about three weeks 
previous to that time his son, while playing with his 
brothers, apparently in good health, was all at once 
seized with a violent pain in his leg, and, crying, he 
said his leg was broken ; an examination followed, 
and there were no marks of external violence that 
could be discovered, nor was the bone fractured. The 
pain remained very violent ; the ankle became some- 






APPENDIX. 261 

what tumefied, without alteration of the colour of the 
• skin. A tumour on each side of the ankle rose and 
burst in the course of eight or ten days, which dis- 
charged a great quantity of cancerous ichorous mat- 
ter; the wounds rapidly increased in size, so that 
when I was called, the flesh on both sides of his ankle 
was so much destroyed, as well as the sinovial mem- 
branes, that the larger part of the ankle bones, and 
the lower part of the leg bones, were uncovered for at 
least an inch and a half; and, owing to the great re- 
laxation of the remaining parts, the light could be 
easily seen through his ankle, there being only the 
tendo-achilles and the tendons on the upper of the 
foot, that kept it fast to the leg ; and the great and 
rapid destruction of the soft parts, made the parents 
of the little sufferer fear that each time they unban- 
daged his foot, it would drop off. Another large ulcer 
on the upper part of the foot laid the tendons bare. 
In examining this terrible wound, I laid my fingers 
below the patella, and two large streams of purulent 
matter issued on each side of his ankle. The whole 
leg appeared tumefied and gangrenous, the veins be- 
ing black and distended upon the leg ; the edges of 
the wound were bathed w r ith a dark blood oozing out 
of the veins, partly eat out. The little boy com- 
plained of a severe pain in his right shoulder ; his 
body extremely emaciated ; a hectic, feeble pulse, and 
a colliquative diarrhoea, was, to all appearances, fast 
hastening him to a not far distant grave. The smell 
of the matter discharged was so offensive that I had 
to leave the room even before I had thoroughly ex- 
amined my patient. But I thought that it was im- 
possible that any one could recover from so low a 
state, or even to arrest the rapid strides of that cruel 
disease. My opinion as to the probability of the 
recovery of the patient, was asked by the anxious 



APPENDIX. 

parents, and I gave it as my belief that he would die. 
Mr. Everett then asked me to do what I could ; and at 
his request I left medicines and directions as follows : 
A tea to be drank, composed of Composition Pow- 
ders, one part; golden seal, one part; poplar bark, 
one part, and one part of button snake root, (Liatris 
Squarosa,) made strong ; and of this take half a tea- 
cupful from four to six times a day. After bathing 
the sound parts of the leg in No. 6, and the sores in 
the juice of burdock leaves; we laid a piece of linen 
over the wounds ; we had a poultice of astringent 
vegetables prepared, and with it his whole leg and 
foot were wrapped up as hot as he could bear it. The 
next day I returned, and found that his pulse was 
much better ; I then administered him an emetic, 
which operated finely ; the same treatment as above 
was followed, and the best care was taken of the boy ; 
and every attention and human assistance that nurses 
could afford, was rendered to him. By pursuing this 
plan every day (with the emetic) for a whole week, 
he was much mended ; the disease evidently checked ; 
no more pain in his shoulder, and his general health 
much improved. The emetic was only administered 
every other day, for another week ; then twice the 
third week ; then occasionally afterwards. The cure 
of the boy would have been very rapid had it not been 
for his awkwardness when he began to be able to go 
about. His frequent falls would cause his foot to be 
put out of place and retard the cure. Several bones 
and pieces of bones fell out, when the wound finally 
cicatrized. In the mean time two ulcers were formed 
on the leg, out of which two pieces of bone sloughed 
off and came out, when his leg healed also. A tumour 
had also risen on his right shoulder ; though indolent, 
its softness and undulating appearance to the touch, 
showed that there was matter. It was lanced, a small 



APPENDIX. 253 

quantity of watery matter came out, and shortly after- 
wards a small piece of the scapula or shoulder blade 
was also taken out, when this immediately healed. 
This cure was effected in less than six weeks ! I 
attended him from the 24th of October to the 24th 
of November pretty regularly, at which time he was 
so near well that further attendance was deemed un- 
necessary. A few months afterwards I had occasion 
to pass that way, and curiosity led me to examine the 
boy's foot, and see how stiff the ankle joint was. He 
walked across the room without limping in the least, 
which astonished me, as I supposed that the anchy- 
lose must cause some lameness ; but when I came to 
examine it, I found, to my great surprise, that the 
motion of the joint was very little impaired ! Such 
are the wonderful resources of nature, when not tor- 
tured by the meddling of modern butcheries and false 
learning. 

I have attended several cases of this dreadful mala- 
dy, with great success, which I propose to give you 
a history of at some future time. 
Yours, &c, 

D. F. Nardil. 

Charlestoh, S. C, June 26, 1835. 



CASE XXVI. 

Case of Calculi in the Lungs, 

From the Thomsonian Recorder. 
Messrs. Editors. — Taking into consideration the 
facts that the Thomsonian practice has been diffused 
through the New England States for the last fifteen 
or twenty years ; that it is extensively diffused in the 
Western States, and has received the direct sanction 
of the Legislature of Ohio ; that it has obtained such 



254 APPENDIX. 

a footing in the States of New York and Maryland, 
that its friends are making efforts to procure the re- 
peal of the restrictive enactments of those States in 
reference to medical practitioners ; that it is not un- 
known in the South ; and that there are now about 
one million of Thomsonian right-holders in the 
United States, most of whom practise more or less — 
does not the infrequency with which letters in defence 
of Thomson's system appear, afford a strong argu- 
ment in favour of that system 1 — as it is seen that its 
enemies stand with eager readiness to trumpet forth 
every failure in practice as a " quack murder." The 
enemies of the system act as though they would be 
content with nothing short, of its conferring immor- 
tality on all who have to do with it. 

I feel grateful to that Providence which a few weeks 
since threw in my way a gentleman who was able to 
possess me of a clear understanding of the Thomso- 
nian principles of medical practice, and afforded me 
unquestionable testimonials of the high standing of 
Dr. John M. Williams, of Baltimore, as a practitioner, 
whose service I was so fortunate as to obtain; for, 
having been afflicted with consumption for some 
years, and confined entirely to my room since No- 
vember last, my life was despaired of by my friends, 
and although I flattered myself to recover, I am now 
convinced, by what has passed from my lungs, that 
their fears must soon have been realized. Nine 
days previous to the arrival of Dr. Williams, I was 
taken with a bleeding at the lungs, accompanied 
with increase of cough, great difficulty in breathing, 
and inability to sleep, and the morning that I passed 
through the first course of the Thomsonian Medicine, 
(which includes two steamings, with the cold shower, 
or washing off,) I could scarcely get across my room. 
The relief which I experienced after the second 



APPENDIX. 256 

steaming, was such, that I felt as though my disease 
had been entirely removed ; for my respiration had 
become easy, my cough appeared to have ceased, and 
I could walk without embarrassment. 

On commencing with me, Dr. Williams stated 
that he could not tell how many courses it would re- 
quire to restore me, but thought that twelve might 
answer. I have passed through eight, and such has 
been their effect upon me, that I have thrown from 
my lungs seven calculi, (hard substances with sharp 
burry points,) and for three weeks past soft ones of 
the same form have been almost constantly passing. 
When all these shall have been brought away, I 
promise myself a restoration to health, as my strength 
continues to increase, and my general appearance is 
so much improved, that it is thought to be better than 
at any time during the last fifteen years. 

Dr. Williams is still with me, although in reply to 
my letter of inquiry he promised only one w r eek's at- 
tendance, during which he proposed to lay a founda- 
tion on which I might build ; his philanthropy, not 
permitting him to turn away the numerous applica- 
tions, made to him in consequence of his successful 
commencement with me, and, having made arrange- 
ments with a competent person to attend to his prac- 
tice in Baltimore, he has determined on an effort to 
establish the Thomsonian system of medical practice 
in this district. Earnestly desiring his success, I in- 
vite the special attention of the reader to what Dr. 
Montgomery says regarding the ease with which fevers 
are arrested, for the purpose of stating that Dr. Wil- 
liams will pledge himself, if the first called, to relieve 
the worst bilious or pleurisy case in 48 hours, (ordi- 
nary cases not requiring more than from 3 to 24,) 
and should he lose his patient, will not only make no 
charge for his attendance, but will pay $30 towards 



256 ATPPENDIX. 

the funeral expenses, and I hereby obligate myself his 
security for the payment; of the money. 

I will conclude by invoking Him who has before 
made use of weak things to confound the wisdom of 
the wise, to hasten the fulfilment of Dr. Waterhouse's 
prediction, that both medical systems will " come out 
in the same road at last," the "medical faculty" 
adopting the Thomsonian. 

** ; James C. Duxx, 

Corner of 5th and E. streets, near the GeneraUPost Office. 

Washington, May 28, 1835. 

CASE XXVII. 
The following cases were reported for this work by 

our esteemed friend, Dr. Armstrong, residing in 

South Sixth street, above Pine. 

Philadelphia, Feb. 1,1841. 
Dr. Wm. Johnston : 

Sir : — Having been informed that you are about 
publishing a work on the Botanic practice of Medi- 
cine, entitled, " The Good Samaritan, or Sick Man's 
Friend," I herewith send you an account of an extra- 
ordinary case of mania, (which was successfully 
treated by me,) in order to contribute my mite to the 
good cause of medical reform, and to bear my humble 
testimony in its favour. 

Having had many years' experience in the medical 
profession ; and many cases of a serious nature to 
combat with in my own practice, and which I suc- 
ceeded in restoring to health by the use and aid of 
Thomsonian or Botanic medicine, I am fully con- 
vinced that no case need be uncured, (if curable,) 
when properly and judiciously treated by the whole- 
some vegetable productions of our own country. 

The case above alluded to, was that of a lady of 
about twenty-five years of age, who was under the 



APPENDIX. 257 

old school, or regular treatment of physicians, (as it is 
called,) for some nine months in the Friends' Lunatic 
Asylum, at Frankford, without receiving the least 
benefit, but rather grew worse and worse, until her 
case became one of the most distressing character. 
She was confined in the above institution, and under- 
went the whole treatment of the antiphlogistic order ; 
such as bleeding, blistering, salivation, head shaved, 
cold shower-bath, strait-jacket, confinement, tied 
down, &c. &c. &c. These, together with starvation, 
is, in my opinion, sir, enough to drive the stoutest con- 
stitutioned man in the world to madness ; for such 
treatment is in direct opposition to nature, and all her 
sanatory efforts. I need hardly inform you, that I 
reversed the whole of this harsh and unnatural course, 
by giving the patient her liberty to enjoy the fresh 
air ; and I pursued the repletive treatment in her case, 
by giving her our tonics and diaphoretics, and the 
most powerful stimulants that could be found in the 
vegetable kingdom ; together with liniments, possess- 
ing and producing a stimulating and antispasmodic 
effect. 

This treatment, persevered iu, brought the patient 
to herself; to enjoy the society of her parents and 
friends in the space of six weeks; and she is now 
married and doing well. 

CASE XXVIII. 

Fob. the encouragement and information of young 
practitioners, I would also present you with a case of 
Inflammation of the Lungs, to show them that perse- 
severance should be our motto ,• and that we should 
never be too hasty in deserting our patients, or in 
giving them over to die. 

David Harmer, a young man of twenty-one years 
of age, was attacked with inflammation of the lungs, 

17 



258 APPENDIX. 

and was perhaps as severe a case of the kind as ever 
came under the care of a physician. So great was 
his sufferings, that it was really distressing and pain- 
ful for his friends to be in the room with him. He 
discharged about a quart of blood, and a frothy sub- 
stance from the lungs each day for six days in succes- 
sion, when a profuse bleeding from the nose took 
place, which continued for two days longer, when he 
gradually came to his senses. (I should have stated 
that he was delirious ,during those two days.) After 
the bleeding from the nose ceased, the discharge from 
the lungs changed to a thick clotted substance, resem- 
bling ripe pus, which was very offensive ; his tongue 
was covered with a thick, black, gummy coat, and 
appeared in colour as if he had been eating black- 
berries. His pulse, which was as quick as 130, now 
fell in the space of 12 hours to 40 beats in a minute; 
and, indeed, so hopeless did the case appear, that my- 
self and all who saw him, thought it would be impos- 
sible for him ever to recover. But to the credit 
of the Botanic system of medical practice, he did 
recover under the following* treatment, *viz.: a regu- 
lar course of medicine was administered every day, 
with enemas three times a day; also, cataplasms were 
applied to the breast, composed of Composition, brown 
Lobelia, and slippery elm, saturated with a strong 
solution of salt and water. - We also applied stimu- 
lating liniments to his breast and head ; and so great 
was the inflammation, that we were compelled to keep 
him continually under the influence of a compound 
of Lobelia and capsicum for the space of six days. 
The above distressing symptoms now beginning to 
abate, we pursued a tonic course of treatment until he 
was entirely restored to health, which was in about 
thirteen days after we commenced with him ; when . 
he was able to make his appearance in the workshop 



APPENDIX. 259 

among his comrades, to the joy and astonishment of 
all his friends. We are happy to add that he is enjoy- 
ing good health up to this time, which is now about 
two years since he was under my care. 

Respectfully, &c. 
Wjvt. Aemstboxg, M. D. 



CASES XXIX. & XXX. 
The two following cases were reported for publica- 
tion in this work by Dr. Wm. Burton, Botanic 
Physician, residing No. 85 North 5th street, Phila- 
delphia. 

To Dr. Wm. Johnston : 

Dear Sir: — I herewith furnish you with two 
extraordinary cases of disease that came under my 
.notice, and were successfully treated by vegetable 
remedial agents only. 

In the summer of 1839 I was called to see a lady 
in this city, (Clarissa Smith,) aged about 49 years, 
who had been afflicted with scrofula in its most ma- 
lignant form, for more than twelve years, without in- 
termission ; during which time she had the attend- 
ance of six respectable physicians of the mineral prac- 
tice, without receiving the least relief, or mitigation of 
her complaint. She also used twenty-five dollars 
worth of Swaim's Panacea; and this also failing of 
affording her any relief; she began to despair of all 
hopes of recovery for her distressing situation. 

When I came to see her, I found that the disease 
had progressed to an awful crisis ; her legs were a 
mere mass of ulcers ; one foot was nearly all fungous • 
we could readily pass a probe through it, from top to 
bottom ; her flesh was wasted away, and she was so 
extremely feeble, that I declined giving her a full and 
regular course of medicine, but exhibited Uomposi- 



260 APPENDIX. 

tion and Lobelia in very small doses, until her sto- 
mach was cleansed, and a regular action of the skin 
was produced and kept up. Then I recommended my 
" Compound Vegetable Purifying Syrup" and, be- 
fore she had finished the seventh bottle of this medi- 
cine, she was entirely restored to sound health, and 
remains so unto the present day. 

I should have mentioned, that we used such out- 
ward applications to her foot and legs, as all well-in- 
formed Botanic practitioners are acquainted with. 

For further information, respecting this interesting 
case, I refer you and the public to the lady's own 

CERTIFICATE. 

Philadelphia, October 1, 1839. 
This is to certify to whomsoever this may come, 
that I, Clarissa Smith, living in Duke St. near Second, 
Philadelphia, have been sorely afflicted these twelve 
years, without intermission, with a loathsome disease, 
my physicians called scrofula. Both my legs, from 
the knee to the ankles, were a mass of deep-seated ul- 
cers and tumours, discharging a thin kind of very 
offensive matter, and frequently would swell and 
become very painful. One foot had a hole from top 
to bottom, just below the instep, and the flesh ap- 
peared all fungous ; the muscles of the leg were con- 
tracted and caused lameness ; my general health 
became- reduced, so that I could scarcely at times 
bear my own weight. During this period six eminent 
physicians attended me successively ; each thought 
at first he would give me relief; but it was all to no 
purpose. I still kept sinking, and my friends, as well 
as myself, began to despair of any cure except the 
grave. I then was advised to try Mr. Swaim's pana- 
cea : after he saw my condition, he said he could cure 
me. I took twelve bottles of his panacea, without 



APPENDIX. 261 

the least benefit from the use of it. At this time my 
flesh wasted away, and I seemed fast declining, and 
had given over expecting help, when a benevolent 
lady, hearing of me, called to see me, and first told 
me of Dr. Burton's wonderful success in curing scro- 
fula, cancer, and such like diseases, and prevailed on 
me, as a last resort, to send for him. He came to see 
me, and after inquiring particularly into my case, he 
said it was a desperate case, but he had a preparation 
that had not failed of cure in some very bad cases, 
and that, if I would promise to take it a reasonable 
length of time, he would undertake it. I put myself 
under his directions, and by the time I had taken 
three bottles of his Compound Vegetable Syrup, my 
health began to improve, and before I had finished my 
seventh bottle, I was completly restored to good ge- 
neral health, my legs and feet healed up, solid and 
smooth, and the contractions of the muscles relieved, 
and I can attend to my household affairs as formerly. 
Any one who doubts this, by calling on me at my 
house, can have a more full detail. 

Clarissa Smith. 

The other case alluded to, at the head of this com- 
munication, is as follows : 

About eighteen months ago I was taken fifty miles 
into the country, to see a gentleman nearly sixty 
years of age, who was labouring under a Strangu- 
lated Femoral Hernia, and had ejected or puked up 
the contents of the small intestines, for one whole 
week ! A council of physicians had pronounced him 
irrecoverable by any known process in the old plan 
of treatment, four days previous to my seeing him. 
When I arrived, the family were around him in tears, 
expecting his immediate departure ; as his physician 
had assured them that he could not live three hours ; 



262 ^ APPENDIX. 

and had just then left the house. Having made in- 
quiry, in relation to the treatment he received, and 
having examined the patient myself, I concluded, that 
if mortification had not yet supervened, there was 
still a chance for his recovery. Notwithstanding 
this was my opinion, yet the family demurred, and 
thought my efforts would prove entirely futile, as he 
appeared to be so rapidly declining. However, I per- 
severed in reasoning with them, and finally gained 
their assent to make the effort ; and, notwithstanding 
his speech and pulse were greatly depressed, and the 
puking had not yet abated, in less than twenty-four 
hours after I commenced the application of our vege- 
table remedies, I reduced the rupture completely, and 
presented him to his family physician, with a philo- 
sophical development of the mode and means of re- 
duction and restoration ; without the use of either 
knife or mineral applications. 

The patient continues to enjoy good health, and 
would, no doubt, be willing to testify to the truth of 
this statement, if required. 

Yours, with respect, 

Wm. Burton, M. D. 

Philadelphia, Feb. 1, 1841. 



From the Botanic Sentinel, 

MIDWIFERY. 

Of all the causes of discontent and disquietude 
which pervade the circles of social life, there is none 
perhaps that possess a stronger claim upon the atten- 
tion of the philanthropist, than the pain and anguish 
which civilized woman appears doomed to suffer. It 
will be universally acknowledged that the original 
curse, " in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children," still 
rests with unrelenting rigour upon the fair daughters of 
our own enlightened country. The unwearied efforts 
which have been made by men of learning and genius to 
meliorate the condition of the parturient female would 
naturally lead us to anticipate the happiest results. 
But who that has witnessed the protracted progress 
of a tedious labour treated with all the skill of a Den- 
man, a Burns, or a Boudelocque — who that has heard 
the despairing groan, or viewed the agonizing strug- 
gles of the fair sufferer continued from day to day, 
and beheld as the last alternative the blades of naked 
steel fastened upon the delicate head of the unborn 
infant ; who, I say, that has witnessed this heart-sick- 
ening scene of human wretchedness will not demur 
the efficacy of the obstetric art 1 It must be mortify- 
ing indeed to the pride of the learned accoucheurs to 
witness the total failure of their mightiest efforts. 
They have evidently overreached the object of their 
pursuit. They have clad the most simple and deli- 
cate art of the nursery in the masculine garb of the 
far-fetched sciences, which sits harshly upon it. It is 
not our intention presumptuously to depreciate the 
well-meaning endeavours of those who have laboured 
to cultivate the art of midwifery. We shall claim the 
right, however, to compare facts and make deductions 

263 



964 APPENDIX. 

therefrom. Woman, in a state of civilization, is ex- 
posed to the influence of a variety of casualties which 
tend to protract the process of parturition to more than 
ordinary length. These casualties, however various 
in their nature, generally result in a morbid rigidity 
of the muscular fibres which thus becomes the proxi- 
mate cause of delay. To remove this state of rigidity, 
then, is considered the most important indication of 
relief; and a remedy by which this object could be 
accomplished has ever been the desideratum of the 
art. Blood-letting has been supposed to approach 
nearest to it, and is the means in popular use for that 
purpose. But the employment of this agent with a 
view to produce that degree of relaxation which is al- 
ways requisite to an easy delivery, is deemed of doubt- 
ful efficacy, even by those who have no other remedy 
to recommend. This will appear from the following 
admission of Dr. John Burns, whose authority is the 
polar star of the American accoucheur. In treating 
of the causes of labour, he says, "A fundamental 
principle in midwifery is, that relaxation or diminu- 
tion of resistance is essentiafto an easy delivery, and 
could we discover any agent capable of effecting this 
rapidly and safely, we should have no tedious labours 
except from the state of the pelvis or position of the 
child. This agent has not yet been discovered. Blood- 
letting does often produce salutary relaxation, but it 
is not always to be depended on y neither is it always 
safe" Now, if we sum up these admonitions, made 
as they are by an authority than which there is none 
higher, will it appear strange that many members of 
the faculty have entirely lost confidence in the popu- 
lar practice of midwifery ] Will it appear strange 
that they have forsaken the intricate path which led 
them by the brightest anticipations through the bewil- 
dering labyrinths of ancient and modern lore ? Which 



APPENDIX. 265 

led them by a forced curiosity to visit the theatres of 
dissection, there to behold practised upon the female 
form a violation that would shock the bluntest feelings 
of a cannibal, and which terminated at last in the be- 
nighted field of danger and uncertainty] But are 
we to rest satisfied with this state of things 1 Are 
we to consider the practice which has been inadvert- 
ently acknowledged by its adherents as both uncer- 
tain and dangerous in its effects as the climax of all 
that is attainable by the progressive powers of disco- 
very ] That relaxation is essential to an easy deli- 
very, as stated by Dr. Burns, is a fact which is evident 
to every one who is in the least acquainted with the 
subject. We frequently see the effect of this state of 
the muscular system in the peculiar facility with which 
women are often brought to bed while labouring 
under the consumption, or any disease that has a ten- 
dency to relax the solids. Now, the question to 
which we would invite the attention of our readers is, 
whether this state of relaxation cannot be speedily 
and safely accomplished in those cases where nature 
fails in her efforts to effect it. It appears from the 
preceding remarks, that the faculty are in possession 
of no means for this purpose upon which they can 
safely depend. On the contrary, we opine that the 
agent so much sought in the shops of the druggist 
and the laboratory of the chymist, grows spontaneously 
in every section of our country. That Lobelia In- 
flata can be employed so as to produce that state of 
relaxation; which Dr. Burns lays down as the funda- 
mental principle of midwifery, is a truth that will be 
admitted by every one who has frequently witnessed 
the operation of this valuable herb. We will here 
take the liberty to cite a case which will tend to illus- 
trate the remarkable degree to which the muscular 
fibres may be relaxed by the use of Lobelia and its 



me 



APPENDIX. 



concomitant remedies. A Miss Merchant of our ac- 
quaintance, met with an accident which occasioned a 
complete dislocation of the thigh bone. The most 
eminent surgeons were immediately called, who, ow- 
ing to the powerful contraction which existed in the 
muscles of the limb, were unable to effect a reduction. 
After every means had been employed, which are gene- 
rally resorted to on such occasions, the case was aban- 
doned as incurable, and the young lady anticipating 
herself a cripple for life, was left to hobble about upon 
crutches, a pitiable spectacle of professional ignorance. 
In this situation she continued for more than a year, 
when, in consequence of some temporary indisposi- 
tion, she applied to Dr. Cornell, of Clintonr While 
she was under his care the remedy above mentioned 
was administered with a liberal hand. Upon one oc- 
casion, when the system had become completely satu- 
rated with this medicine, the dislocated bone by an 
accidental movement became placed in its natural 
socket, so that the young lady was immediately ena- 
bled to walk with as great facility as though the acci- 
dent had never occurred. The relation of this case 
may afford a useful hint to the surgeon, yet the object 
of referring to it at this time is to illustrate the prin- 
ciple upon which the Lobelia operates in facilitating 
the process of parturition. For it is well known to 
every accoucheur that any agent capable of relaxing 
the muscular system generally, will, if employed dur- 
ing labour, produce the same effect upon the os uteri 
and other parts concerned in delivery. And, besides 
the safety and certainty with which the operation of 
this article is characterized, it possesses another ad- 
vantage over the use of the lancet, by not being fol- 
lowed by that protracted state of debility which is the 
unavoidable consequence of copious blood-letting. 

W, K. Griffin, M. D. 



A GLOSSARY, 



OH, EXPLANATION OF MANY IMPORTANT TECHNICAL 
TERMS. 



Abdomen. The belly. 

Abortion. The premature expulsion of the foetus from 
the womb. 

Abscess. A tumour containing matter, as a boil, &c. 

Absorbents, 1. The small delicate vessels which 
suck up substances from the surface, or from any 
cavity of the body, and carry them to the blood. 
2. Medicines which destroy acidities in the sto- 
mach, &c. 3. Substances which have the quality 
of withdrawing moisture from the atmosphere. 

Absorption. The taking up of substances by means 
of the absorbents. 

Accoucheur. A person who assists women in child- 
birth. 

Acid. That which imparts to the taste a sour sensation. 

Acrid. Sharp, pungent, corrosive, or heating. 

Acute. Ending in a point ; sharp. It means, when 
applied to diseases, one which is attended with 
violent symptoms, and comes speedily to a crisis. 

Affusion. The act of pouring a liquid upon any 
other substance. 

After-birth. A soft, round, fleshy substance, that 
connects the foetus to the womb, and by which the 
circulation is carried on between the parent and the 
foetus. It is frequently called the placenta. 

Agglutinous. Adhesive. 

Albumen. Coagulable lymph, similar to the white 
of an egg. 

Aliment, Food and drink. 

267 



268 APPENDIX. 

Alkali. A substance which is capable of uniting with 
acids, and destroying their acidity — such as pot- 
ash, &c. 

Alternate. To follow in regular order. In botany, 
leaves growing higher and opposite each other. 

Alvine. Relating to the belly, or intestines ; hence, 
the stools are termed the " alvine discharges." 

Alterative. That which changes the constitution 
from a diseased to a healthy state. 

Amenorrhea. An obstruction of the menses. 

Amonion. The soft membrane which surrounds the 
foetus in the womb. 

Amputation. The act of cutting off a limb, &c. 

Anatomy. The dissection or dividing of organized 
bodies. 

Annual. Yearly, or every year. 

Anodyne. Any medicine which eases pain. 

Anus. The fundament, or third and last of , the 
large intestines. 

Antidote. A preservative against, or remedy for, dis- 
ease ; and particularly for poison. 

Antacid. That which destroys acidity. 

Anthelmintic. That which expels worms from the 
stomach and bowels. 

Anti-emetic. That which removes or opposes vo- 
miting. 

Anti-septic. That which prevents or removes putre- 
faction. 

Anti-dysenteric. That which cures or prevents 
dysentery. 

Anti-spasmodic. That which prevents or removes 
spasms. 

Anasarca. A dropsical swelling or affection. 

Aorta. The great artery of the body, which arises 
from the left ventricle of the heart. 

Aperient. An opening and gently purgative medicine. 



APPENDIX. 269 

Artery. A membraneous pulsating canal, through 
which the blood passes from the heart to every part 
of the body. 

Aphtha. The thrush or sore mouth of children, 

Aromatic. Fragrant ; yielding a pleasant smell. 

Astringent. That which corrects looseness and de- 
bility, by rendering the solids denser and firmer — 
known by its puckering effects on the mouth. 

Atmosphere. The elastic, invisible, fluid which sur- 
rounds the earth, called the air. 

Auricles. A name given to those parts of the heart 
which resemble small ears — called deaf ears. 

Axillary glands. They are the glands situated in 
the armpit. 

Belching. The act of ejecting wind from the stomach 

by the mouth. 
Bile, or gall. A bitter fluid secreted by the liver. 

Caloric. The chymical term for the matter of heat. 
Calculi. The small gravel and stones which form 

in the bladder and kidneys. 
Canker. Small eroding ulcers — generally covered 

with a whitish slough. 
Calyx. The cup, or external covering of an unex- 

panded flower, generally green. 
Capillaries. Very small blood-vessels. 
Carbon. The chymical name for purified charcoal, 
Carbonic Acid. Fixed air, compounded of carbon 

and oxygen. 
Carminative. A medicine which expels wind from 

the body. 
Cartilage. A white elastie substance, often called 

gristle. 
Cathartic. That which purges the intestines. 
Catheter, A small tubular instrument, generally 



270 APPENDIX, 

made of gum elastic, for the purpose of drawing 
the urine from the bladder when the natural dis- 
charge is suppressed. 

Catamenia. The menses. 

Caustic, A burning application. 

Cellular. Consisting of cells or reservoirs, 

Cicatrix. A scar or mark left after healing a 
wound. 

Colon. The large intestine, 

Chymistry — Is that science which teaches how to 
ascertain the nature of material substances, and the 
different parts of which they are composed, as well 
as the various effects, &c, which the union of dif- 
ferent substances produce. 

Chronic. When applied to disease, means of long 
standing. 

Chyle. A white milky fluid, separated from the 
chyme after it has passed from the stomach into 
the small intestines. 

Chyme. Food partially digested in the stomach. 

Chlorosis. The green sickness ; peculiar to females. 

Constipation. An obstruction, or costiveness of the 
bowels. •* 

Constriction. A drawing together, or contraction. 

p, . . "^ Catching ; that which may be commu- 
o gi . r nicated by contact, or by a subtle ex- 

Conto ^ OMS - 5 creted matter. 

Cranium. The skull. 

Cutaneous. Belonging to the skin. 

Cuticle. The outward skin. 

Convalescence. The state of returning health after 
sickness. 

Convulsion. A contraction of the muscular parts of 
the system, by spasms. 

Corosive. That which eats or wears away any 
substance. 



APPENDIX. 271 

Decoction. A tea made by boiling or steeping any 
substance in water. 

Delirium. A wandering of the senses, caused by 
the violence of fever. 

Demulcent. A medicine which lessens acrimony, or 
blunts the effect of sharp medicines. 

Dentition. Teething. 

Diaphoretic. That^which promotes perspiration. 

Detergent. That which cleanses, purifies. 

Diaphragm. A muscle separating the chest, or tho- 
rax, from the abdomen or lower belly ; the midrif. 

Diarrhoea. A purging, or flux. 

Diffusible. That which flows or spreads in all di- 
rections. 

Digest. To dissolve ; often applied to the infusion 
of medicinal substances in spirits. 

Digestion. The process of dissolving aliment in the 
' stomach. 

Diluent. That which thins, or increases the propor- 
tion of fluid in the blood. 

Discutient. An application which disperses a swell- 
ing or tumour, or any coagulated morbid matter. 

Diuretic. That which augments the flow of urine. 

Drastic. Powerful ; acting with violence. 

Drop*y. A collection of serous fluid in the cellular 
membrane or in the viscera. 

Duct. A small tube or vessel, by which fluids are 
conveyed from one part of the body to another. 

Duodenum. The first portion of the small intes- 
tines. 

Dyspepsia. A difficulty of digestion. 

Efflorescence. In disease, applied to a rash, or red- 
ness of the skin ; in botany, to flowers. 
Effluvia. Exhalations from diseased bodies, &c. 
Electuary. Medical ingredients, mixed with honey. 



272 APPENDIX. 

Element. First principles; a substance which cannot 
be divided, or decomposed by chymical analysis. 

Emetic. A medicine which provokes vomiting. 

Emmenagogue. That which promotes menstrual 
discharges. 

Emollient. That which softens or relaxes the solids. 

Enema. An injection ; a liquid injected into the 
rectum. 

Epidemic. A contagious or other disease, which at- 
tacks many persons at the same season and place. 

Epistaxis. Bleeding at the nose. 

Errhines. Medicines which excite sneezing. 

Erratic Pains. Wandering ; irregular. 

Eructation. The act of belching wind from the 
stomach. 

Erysipelas. The rose, or Saint Anthony's Fire. 

Excrement. The alvine fceces, or stools. 

Exhalents. Small vessels which carry off the excre- 
mentitious worn out matter from the system. 

Exhibition. The act of administering medicine. 

Expectorants. Medicines which increase the dis- 
charge of mucus from the lungs. 

Fauces. The back part of the mouth. 

Febrile. Pertaining to, or indicating fever. 

Filter. To strain through cloth, paper, or any other 
porous substance. 

Flatulency. Windiness in the stomach and intestines. 

Flooding. Any preternatural discharge of blood 
from the uterus. 

Fluid. A liquid of any kind. 

Fluor Albus. The whites, or leucorrhea. 

Fomentation. A partial bathing, by applying flan- 
nels dipped in hot water, &c, to any part. 

Friction. Rubbing the surface of bodies against 
each other. 



APPENDIX. 273 

Function. The office which any part of the human 
body is intended to perform. 

Gangrene. Mortification of the flesh. 

Gargle. A liquid preparation for washing the mouth 
and throat. 

Gas. An elastic aeriform fluid 

Gastric Juice. A secretion peculiar to the sto- 
mach. 

Gland. A soft, distinct body, composed of blood- 
vessels, nerves, and absorbents, and destined for 
the secretion or alteration of some peculiar fluid of 
the animal economy. 

Gelatine. A substance resembling jelly. 

Hemorrhage. An unnatural flow of blood. 

Hectic. A slow fever, which accompanies the con- 
sumption, &c. 

Hemorrhoids. The Piles. 

Hemorrhoidal. Pertaining to the piles ; a discharge 
of blood from the vessels of the anus. 

Hydrogen. An aeriform fluid gas ; the lightest sub- 
stance known ; and is used for inflating balloons. 

i It forms one of the elements of water, being about 
fifteen parts of the one hundred, of that fluid ; and 
is fatal to animal life. 

Hypochondria. A disease which is attended by lan- 
guor and debility, lowness of spirits and melan- 
choly; the sufferer often apprehending great evil 
or danger to himself, &c. 

Hysterics. A disease of women, characterized by 
spasmodic affections of the nervous system, and 
often attended by hypochondriacal symptoms. 

Infectious. That which taints, corrupts, or commu- 
nicates disease. 

18 



274 APPENDIX. 

Integument, A covering which invests the body, as 

the skin, nails, &c. 
Inspiration. The act of drawing air into the lungs. 
Inspissate. To thicken a fluid by evaporation. 
Intermittent. Ceasing for certain intervals of time.- 
Intestines. The bowels. 

Lacteals. The vessels which absorb the chyle from 

the intestines, and pour it into the thoracic duct. 
Laxative. A medicine which loosens the bowels. 
Lesion. A hurt, wound, injury. 
Ligament. A strong elastic membrane, connecting 

the extremities of the movable bones. 
Lobe. A part or division of the liver, lungs, &c. 
Local. Belonging to a part, not to the whole. 
Lumbago. A rheumatic affection of the muscles 

about the loins. 
Lumbar Region. The loins ; the small of the back. 
Lymph. A colourless fluid, separated from the blood, 

and contained in small vessels, called lymphatics. 

Mania. Raving, or furious madness. 

Materia medica. A general class of substances, 
which are used as medicines in the cure of disease. 

Membrane. A thin, flexible skin, serving as a cover 
to some of the internal parts of the body. 

Menses. The monthly discharges peculiar to wo- 
men. 

Morbid. Diseased, sickly. 

Mucus. A slimy, ropy fluid, secreted by the mucous 
membrane. 

Muscles. Flesh: the organs of motion, consisting 
of fibres, or bundles of fibres, inclosed in a thin 
cellular membrane. 

Mucilage. A solution of any gummy or slimy sub- 
stance. 



APPENDIX. 275 

Narcotic. A poison which produces sleep by stupe- 
faction — as opium. 

Nausea. An inclination to vomit, without effect- 
ing it. 

Nerves. Long, white cords, originating in the brain 
and spinal marrow, and extending throughout the 
whole body, separating into very minute branches, 
and serving as the organs of sensation. 

Nervine. A medicine which affords relief from dis- 
orders of the nerves. 

Nitrogen. An elementary gaseous fluid, incapable 
of supporting animal life : composing about four- 
fifths of the atmospheric air. 

(Esophagus. The tube through which the food 
passes from the mouth to the stomach. 

Organ. A part of the body capable of performing 
some perfect act or operation. 

Oxide. A substance formed by the union of oxygen 
with some other substance ; as, the rust of iron is 
a red oxide ofjron : the scales about a blacksmith's 
anvil are a black oxide of iron, &c. 

Oxygen — oxygen gas. A substance which composes 
about one-fifth part of the atmospheric air. It was 
formerly called vital air, because it appeared to be 
the only part which exercised any stimulant effect 
upon the living power. It appears to be absorbed, 
or consumed, in combustion or burning of fuel: 
and its absorption by cider, or other liquids, pro- 
duces vinegar : hence it has been called the princi- 
ple of acidity, &c. 

Pancreas. A soft supple gland, situated in the lower 
part of the abdomen, which secretes a kind of saliva, 
and pours it into the duodenum. 



S76 APPENDIX. 

Paralysis. Palsy ; the loss of power of muscular 
motion. 

Paroxysm. 1. An obvious increase of the symptoms 
of a disease, which last a certain time, and then de- 
clines. 2. A periodical attack or fit of a disease. 

Pathology . The history and explanation of disease. 

Parturition. The act of bringing forth, or being de- 
livered of young. 

Peristaltic. The worm-like motion of the intestines, 
by which they contract and expel their contents. 

Perspiration. Evacuation of the fluids of the body 
by the pores of the skin. Also, the matter per- 
spired, or sweat. 

Pharynx. The muscular bag at the back part of the 
mouth, which receives the masticated food, and con- 
veys it into the oesophagus, or gullet. 

Physical. Pertaining to material things. 

Physiology. That science which treats of life ,- or 
the laws and actions of living bodies in a state of 
health. 

Plethora. A fulness of habit : a redundance of blood. 

Pleura. The membrane-lining of the thorax or 
chest, an inflammation of which is termed pleurisy. 

Predisposition. Previous adaptation to any certain 
purpose. 

Priapism. Preternatural tension. 

Prolapsus. A falling out, or down of some part of 
the body. 

Proximate cause. That which precedes and pro- 
duces any particular effect. 

Puberty. Ripe age in both sexes. 

Pubes. The share-bone. 

Pulmonary. Belonging to the lungs. 

Pulsation. The beating of the heart or an artery. 

Purulent. Consisting of pus, or matter. 



I 

APPENDIX. 277 

Purgative. That which increases the discharges of 
the intestines by stool. 

Pus. A whitish cream- like matter, found in sores 
and abscesses. 

Putrescent. Becoming putrid : tending to putrefac- 
tion. 

Quartan. The fourth-day ague. 

Quotidian. Daily : a fever which returns every day. 

Rectum. The lower portion of the intestines, termi- 
nating in the anus. 

Refrigerant. That which cools, or allays the heat 
of the body. 

Remittent. To abate in violence for a time, without 
intermission. 

Resolution. Dispersing a tumour, or inflammation, 
without suppuration. 

Respiration. The act of breathing. 

Retching. Straining to vomit, without effecting it. 

Rigidity. Stiffness : want of pliability. 

Rigour. A sense of chilliness, with contraction of the 
skin. 

Rubefacient. That which induces redness of the 
skin without blistering. 

Saliva. A fluid secreted by the glands of the mouth, 

called spittle. 
Salivation. A scientific mode of purging the salival 

glands with mercury, to cure disease by spitting ! 

and by rotting the gums and loosening the teeth ! ! ! 
Sanguine. Abounding with blood ; plethoric. 
Sanguiferous. Conveying blood ; the blood-vessels 

are called the sanguiferous system. 
Sciatica. A rheumatic affection of the hip-joint. 



278 APPENDIX. 

Secretion. The act of separating from the blood such 
substances as bile, saliva, &c. &c. 

Semen, A secreted fluid or seed, essential to genera- 
tion. 

Sedative. A medicine which quiets the nerves and 
moderates muscular action. 

Sensorium. The brain is so called, because it is the 
organ of all the senses. 

Sialogogue. A medicine which causes a flow of 
saliva. 

Solvent. Having the power of dissolving. 

Spasm, ?The cramp; pertaining to cramp or 

Spasmodic. 5 convulsions. 

Stimulants, or Stimuli. Medicines which excite 
the energy of the system. 

Spleen. The melt. It is situated between the ele- 
venth and twelfth false ribs, on the left side. 

Stool. An evacuation from the bowels. 

Strangury. A painful difficulty iff voiding urine. 

Sudori/ic. That which produces sweat. 

Suppuration. The process by which matter is 
formed in sores. 

Syncope, Fainting, or swooning. 

Tendon, The white and glistening extremity of a 

muscle, by which it is attached to the bone: a 

sinew. 
Tepid, Lukewarm. 
Tetanus, The cramp — i^ck-jaw — fits. 
Thorax, The chest. 
Tissues, The textures which compose the different 

organs. 
Tonsils, Two glandular bodies, situated in the back 

of the mouth. 
Tonic, A medicine which increases the strength or 

tone of the system. 



APPENDIX. 279 

Torpid* Numb, stupid, inactive. 

Trachea, The wind-pipe. 

Tremor, An involuntary trembling. 

Tumour, A morbid swelling of some particular part. 

Typhoid, Weak, low, resembling typhus. 

Ulcer, A sore or abscess, which discharges pus. 
Ureters, The tubes which convey the urine from 

the kidneys to the bladder. 
Urethra, The membranous canal, by which the 

urine is discharged from the bladder 
Uterus, The womb. 
Uterine, Appertaining to the uterus. 

Vaccination, Inoculating with the cow-pox. 

Vagina, The canal which leads to the uterus. 

Vapour, Steam ; a moist, elastic fluid. 

Vupour-bath, A place for applying steam to the body. 

Vascular, Composed of vessels. 

Veins, Vessels which return the blood to the heart. 

Vena cava. The two large veins which pour the 
blood into the heart ; the one from the head, and 
the other from the lower extremities. 

Vertigo, Dizziness, or giddiness of the head. 

y. } These terms are applied to the organs con- 

y. * £» tained in the thorax and abdomen ; as 
u ' j the lungs, the liver, &c. 

Viscid. Glutinous, sticky. 

Vis Medicatrix Naturae, The healing power of na- 
ture. 

Virus. Poison; the contagious matter of an ulcer, &c. 

Volatile, That which wastes away by exposure to 
the air. 



INDEX. ' 

Address of Dr. Thomas Hersey '"- Page 13 

Ague and fever --------69 

Ague chaser --------- 135 

Adhesive plaster --------- 121 

Asthma — difficulty of breathing ----- 70 

Astringents, or No. 3------- 109 

A course of medieine - - - - - - - 125 

A description of various diseases ----- 68 

Antimony described ------- 159 

Anti-emetic drops -,-----_ 125 

Arsenic, description of------- 161 

Arsenious acid - . - - - - - - - 162 

Alcohol a deadly poison - - - - - - 188 

A plain statement of facts - - - - - - 191 

A complicated case ------- 191 

A miracle --.-..-.. 232 
Apoplexy cured - - * ... - - - - - 238 

A foot saved by steam ------- 250 

A cancerous tumour cured ------ 211 

A black woman's case ------- 239 

Blood-letting, by Professor Terry - - - - . - 20 

Bleeding from the nose or other parts - - - 71 

Bitter tonics, or No. 4 ------ -110 

Blackberry cordial - — - - - - - 113 

Bread of life - - - - - - - -117 

Bread, how made -------- 139 

Bathing, very important - - - - - - 141 

Bilious fever ------.. 210 

Convulsions, or fits - - - - - - - 74 

Cancer sores --------75 

Croup, how treated - - - - - - - ib. 

Composition powder ------- 116 

Cough powder -------- 117 

Cholera syrup -------- ng 

Cancer plaster --------122 

Copper and brass, bad medicine ----- 166 

Cicnta, or water hemlock ------ 187 

Confirmed consumption ------ 218 

Case of dyspepsia cured - - - - - - 222 

Calculi in the lungs ------- 253 

Clarissa Smith's certificate - - - - -260 

281 



282 INDEX. 

Dr. Terry on blood-letting - Page 20 

Dr. Lobstein's opinion of do. - - - - - - 36 

Dr. Montgomery's letter ------ 8 

Dr. Hersey's address -------13 

Dr. Logan's long course ------ 127 

Dr. Johnston's short course ------ 128 

Dr. Hersey's opinion of physicians - - - - 67 

Dr. Thomson shamefully treated -- - - - ib. 

Dr. Thomson's eye water ------ 206 

Dr. Armstrong's letter ------- 256 

Dr. Burton's letter ------- 259 

Drowning and resuscitation ------ 61 

Delirium --------- 76 

Diabetes ---------77 

Dropsy, symptoms and treatment - - - - 78 

Dyspepsia or indigestion ------ 89 

Demulcent restoratives - - - - - - 111 

Diuretic tea for gravel - --*- - - - 124 

Dietetic regimen and rules ------ 143 

Different kinds of food - ------ 145 

Dreadful effects of mercury ----- 167—181 

Digitalis Purpurea ------- 185 

Disease of the spine and hip cured •- 196 

Dropsy cured -------- 237 

Dreadful case of hydrophobia - - - - - 241 

Extract from Dr. Cunis's Lecture ----- 47 

Elements of which man is composed - 52 

Eruptions of the skin -------84 

Emetics, or No. 1 - - - - - - - 107 

Effects of opium - - - - - - - 184 

Eyes, inflammation of, cured ---'-- 205 
Encouragement to young practitioners - - - - 257 

Facts from the Encyclopedia- - - - - 50 

Facts are stubborn things ------ 207 

Four interesting cases - - - - - - - 237 

Foxglove — a poison ------- 185 

Femoral hernia cured ------- 261 

Fever, remarks on _-.--.-64 

do. cured or paid for, by Dr. Williams - - - 253 

Graham's system - - - - - - - 141 

Gravel, a medicine for ----."- 124 

Green sickness --------86 

General remarks on fever ------ 64 

Hysterics, how treated -------86 



INDEX. 383 

Hydrophobia, how cured - Page 87. 211. 241 

Healing salve --------120 

How to steam - - - - -.- - - 128 

Introduction - - « - « „--3 

Infant drops -------- 112 

Infant's emetic, the cough drops ----- 120 

Importance of temperate living ----- 140 

Injurious drinks ------ -145—147 

Inflammation of the uterus cured - - - - 193 

Inflammation of the eyes cured - - - - -205 

Important case of fever cured ----- 200 

Interesting statement ------- 234 

Inflammation of the lungs cured ----- 257 

Letter from Dr. Montgomery ----- 8 

do. from Dr. Benj. Waterhouse - - - - 15 

do. from S. H. R.No. 40, Chestnut street- - - 248 
do. from Dr. Armstrong ------ 256 

do. from Dr. Burton - - - - - -259 

Lead, poisonous properties of - - - - 181 

Lobelia a specific for poison ------ 88 

Locked jaw ---------91 

Ladies bitters - - - -- - - - 118 

Lewis Conaro, a nobleman - - - - - - J43 

Levi Harrison's case - - - - - - - 240 

Mercury, description of - ------ 167 

Mrs. Stephens's case - - - - - - - 203 

Midwifery, remarks on------- 263 

Miracle 232 

Method of steaming children - - - - - -130 

Mania or madness cured ------ 256 

Materia Medica --------102 

Nerve powder - - i - - - " " " " ^ 
Nerve ointment -------- 120 

Nitre — nitrate of potash ------ 183 

News from Dr. W. Thompson - - - - - 200 

News from Washington city ------ 253 

Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 107—114 

Opium, poisonous effects of ----- 184 

Piles, how cured --------91 

Palsy, treatment of ----- 92 and 232 

Plants used in this practice - - - - - - 103 

Pepper sauce ---------123 



284 INDEX. 

Power of Thomson's remedies - Page 131 

Prussic acid - -- - - - - -187 

Quicksilver, or mercury - - - - - - 167 

Qualities and effects of our medicines ... 131 

Remarks on medicine -------17 

Rheumatism, how treated ------ 92 

Rheumatic drops, or No. 6- - - -- - 114 

Remarks on fever --------64 

Rupture cured ------ 196 and 261 

Something good about steam - ----- 43 

St. Vitus's dance --------93 

Scarlet fever, how treated 94 and 207 

Scalds and burns --------96 

Stimulants, or No. 2 ------- 109 

Superior No. 4 - - V. HI 

Strengthening plaster ------- 121 

Stimulating liniment ------ .^123 

Saltpetre, a poison - — - - - - - - 183 

Steam triumphant --------234 

Thomson's theory, or system - 52 

Thomsonian convention ------ 88 

Tinctures, how prepared ------ 124 

Tetter on the face ---*---- 136 

Uterine evacuations -------99 

Unbolted wheat bread ------- 136 

Value of steam -------.43 

Vital principle --------51 

Volatile salts - - - -.-'- - - -125 

Very important case - ----- - - -248 

Whites, or fluor albus ------- 100 

Worms, how treated - - - - - - - 101 

Woman's friend, or spiced bitters - - - - - 118 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



I am happy in being able to announce to the pub- 
lic generally, and my friends in particular, that this 
little work has been generously patronised by emi- 
nent individuals in this and other states; and that 
this SYSTEM OF MEDICAL PRACTICE has 
been adopted in the families of the gentlemen whose 
names are hereunto annexed, and earnestly recom- 
mended to their fellow-citizens and neighbours, as the 
best, surest, and safest means of eradicating disease, 
that has as yet been discovered. 

In Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. 
Jacob Neff, sen. . Amos King, 

Jacob Neff, jr. Joseph Lewis, 

John NerT, Joel Smedley, 

Benjamin Barr, Benjamin Harlan, 

Martin Barr, jr. Elias Hambleton, 

Jacob Martin, Joseph Thomas, 

John M. Miller, Solomon W. Kirk, 

John Connelly, Thomas Devonshire, 

John Patrick, George W. Swift, 

Dr. C. M. Johnston, James Parker, 

Wm. L. Rakestraw, Joseph Smith, 

Thomas Peart, Wm. Patrick, 

Eli Smedley, Richard B. GrofT. 

In Chester county, Penn. 
Dr. Alfred Weeks, Joshua Jackson, 

Gideon Pierce, Richard Darlington, 

Jacob Speakman, Ralph Vernon, 

28§ 



286 



RECOMMENDATIONS. 



Joseph Jefferis, Esq. 
Joshua Speakman, 
Joshua Cloud, 
Jeffery Bentley, 
Joseph Ecoff 
Isaac Peirce, (Newlin,) 
George Peirce, 
James Peirce, 
Robert Wilson, Esq. 
Elisha B. Taylor, 
Absalom Valentine, 
Dr. J. W. Harvey, 
Bennet Jefferis, 
William Blair, 
Lewis Harvey, 
Amos Harvey, 
Isaac Peirce, (L. D.) 
Obed Jackson, 
Job Hayes, 
Samuel Wickersham, 
W T illiam McNeil, 
Mordecai Hayes, 

In Delaware 
Samuel L. James, 
Jacob Byer, 

William 

In Philadelphia county, Perm. 
Dr. William Burton, M. S. McLane, 

Dr. William Armstrong, John Smith. 

In Hartford county, Maryland. 

Joshua Clendenon, George W. Ewing, 

William S. Markland, William McCauley, 
John J. Husband, James Davis, 

Thomas E. Scarborough. 



Simon Barnard, 
Wm. Gauthrop, 
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Job Pyle, 
Reuben Bailey, 
Joseph Pyle, 
George Coates, 
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Richard Smith, 
Christopher H. Webb, 
David A. Fleming, 
Joel Bailey Eger, 
Thomas Martin, 
John Wilson, 
John Way, 
Isaac Pyle, 
John Way, 
Mahlon Kensey, 
Charles Buffington. 

county, Penn. 

Joseph H. Johnson, 
John Burk, 
L. Green. 



RECOMMENDATIONS, 



287 



The following gentlemen have also patronised this 
publication. 

Benjamin B. Gonder, 
Joseph Gonder, 
S. B. Worth, 
Levi Harlan, 
John Smith, Esq. 
Annesley Newlin, 
George E. Bartholomew, 
Henry Hunter, 
Wm. F. Mackey, 
James Blair, 
John Murdick, 
James McPhail, Esq. 
James Jefferis, 
Thomas Fulton, 
Norris J. Embree, 
Joseph E. Perry, 
Milton Keech, 
Wm. R. Chambers, 
Joseph Young, 

and upwards of five hundred others, but our circum- 
scribed limits will not allow us to publish their names ; 
nevertheless, we return them our sincere thanks for 
their patronage. 

WM. JOHNSTON. 



Rev. Richard Newton, 
Rev. Silas C. James, 
Rev. Daniel Dodge, 
Rev. William Stedman, 
Samuel H. Harry, M. D. 
George Hoffman, Esq. 
Capt Andrew Charles, 
Henry Funk, 
Joseph Bowman, 
Col. Isaac Girvin, 
Samuel P. Bawer, 
John K. Stoner, 
John McCal lister, 
Hannum Baldwin, 
Isaac Jefferis, 
Ellis Patterson, 
Amos Fredd, 
Caleb Buffington, 
Isaac Harry, 



TO 

1 THE FRIENDS OF SCIENCE AND \ 
i MEDICAL REFORM. 

(03 CO> 



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